


Keep the Change

by MessintoMessages



Series: accidental happenings [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Mention of Minor Character Death, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, and when i say light i mean light, mention of the dreamies, soft!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-10-06 22:18:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17353658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MessintoMessages/pseuds/MessintoMessages
Summary: Taeil’s one love was computers. He ate, he breathed, he lived computers. It was the only thing that could ever challenge him. That is until he met Johnny, the new happy go lucky barista at his favorite coffee shop.





	1. Chapter 1

The first day of Taeil’s last year in college really left more to be desired. While he wasn’t shy to waking up early, he preferred to only do so to get some work done in the mornings, then go to class in the early afternoon. Unfortunately, he was left with no choice but to take a 7:30 am class this semester, which he was surprised even existed as most early classes started at 8:00. Even worse was that _all_ his classes happened to only be offered in the mornings, so he was forced to go straight to class as soon as he woke up every day of the week. Apparently, someone in the college system assumed that Information Technology majors liked to go to class early.  

Taeil had a business fixing students’ laptops and other devices so this new routine was threatening his evenings to work on that. And he did not like his routine being threatened.

The morning started with him struggling to make it out of the door on time, having to skip breakfast, and most importantly his daily stop at Aroma Mocha, his favorite coffee shop. And of course, it _had_ to be raining.

By the time he got back to his apartment, unfortunately a 20-minute walk to campus, he was soaked, stressed, and ready for eternal slumber.

"You look like death." Taeil’s roommate, Doyoung, scrunched up his nose as he walked through the door. "You better not drip everywhere I swear to god."

"Ah yes, my day was great thanks for asking!" Taeil answered back, a fake smile plastered on his face.

Doyoung rolled his eyes making his way back into the kitchen.

"You’re lucky I am a caring and thoughtful friend Moon Taeil, and that I’m still going to let you eat the soup I made after that sass."

"I’m the sassy one?!" Taeil couldn’t help but laugh. He had known Doyoung ever since his family had moved next door to them when he was in 3rd grade. They were both only children so they naturally became friends. In reality, Doyoung kept coming over and demanding they play together. He never was the sweetest child, but that didn’t mean he did not care. He just had a unique way of showing it. Which was being ruthlessly sassy and extremely dramatic. However, he would stick up for his friends in any and every situation, always ready to throw a fit for the sake of the people he cared for.

Surprisingly to most, their dynamic worked quite well. Taeil was extremely introverted growing up, yet he craved friends. He just found himself too shy to ever reach out to someone. That is until Doyoung forced his way into the elder’s life, giving no indication of ever leaving.

14 years later he was still keeping that resolution. They had been living together for the past year as Doyoung had just started at the same university as Taeil, this year being his second.

Taeil quickly shed his wet clothes and changed into something a lot more comfortable, vowing to take a hot bath after his impromptu meal.

"I thought you were working at the theater today?" Taeil asked taking a spoonful of the tomato soup Doyoung had made.

"Yeah I was but the parking lot flooded again because of the rain so they told us all not to come in because it was so bad."

Doyoung was a Theater Arts major and worked at the local theater on his off time, for experience and a paycheck, he says.

By the time Taeil made it to the bath he was having trouble staying awake, instead opting to cut his bath short and take a nap before he had to go pick up some poor kid’s broken laptop.

The first week of class was always surprisingly busy for Taeil’s little business, everyone who had bad luck with their laptops or phones over the summer all brought their problems to him as soon as they made it back to campus, so he could fix them up before things got too busy with classes.

In retrospect, it worked out in his favor quite a bit, as he could easily use the extra money for textbooks. But the extra stress always weighed on him. And it was especially bad today.

When Taeil finally woke up he quickly realized that he was very late. So late that the person he was meeting had called him four times and sent him about double that in text messages. He quickly shot them a text back stating he would be there soon. He grabbed his bag and ran out the door, once again forgetting to bring an umbrella or any kind of jacket. Thankfully for the poor soul’s computer he was fixing, his bag was waterproof. But that still didn’t mean he did not get absolutely soaked for the second time that day.

By the time he had gotten there, he was 30 minutes late and completely out of breath.

"I am so so sorry I’m late," he managed to squeak out between gulps of air, almost completely bent over because he couldn’t seem to catch his breath. Taeil wasn’t one to make excuses but the look on the boy’s face had made him really want to.

Thankfully for Taeil’s conscience, however, the boy broke out in a huge smile and proceeded to shove his hand out inches in front of Taeil’s face.

"I’m Lucas!"

Taeil shot straight up and grabbed the boy’s hand to shake it. He quickly realized how tall he was and was suddenly very grateful that he hadn’t been mad.

"Oh hi. I’m Taeil," he responded back awkwardly.

"Yeah, I know. So, I hear you’re pretty damn good at fixing computers?" Lucas asked, the creepily happy smile still plastered on his face.

"Um… yeah?" Something about this Lucas character made Taeil feel a bit uneasy.

"You don’t sound too confident about that," Lucas responded, smile changing into more of a smirk.

"Well, there hasn’t been anything I haven’t been able to fix yet. Anything that had been legitimately fixable that is… which technically could be any problem, it really just comes down to price. Like sometimes it's worth it to just cut your losses and buy a new computer. That’s why I always look it over before stating a price, or honestly if I am actually willing to fix it." Taeil felt himself start to ramble, which he found himself doing on many occasions. So, he cut himself off before Lucas did.

"Well, you see… I _need_ to you fix this. I don’t want to buy a new computer. I don’t care about the cost I just need this one fixed." And for a second Lucas’s whole mysterious façade dropped and it was almost like he was begging.

"Okay… but um-"

"No but’s! Can you do it or not?" Lucas practically stomped his foot on the ground like a child, clearly getting irritated.

"Well I haven’t really looked at it, and I really don’t know what the issue is so-"

"You just said you could fix anything didn’t you?"

"Um… I didn’t say that exactly-"

"Okay. That’s fine. I’ll take my business elsewhere." And with that, he turned around ready to walk off.

Taeil should have let him walk away. He was being extremely demanding, and he already knew he had enough on his plate. But something about the way he talked made Taeil feel like this was a challenge he would miss out on not solving.

"Wait! I’ll do it."

"Yay!" Lucas shoved the laptop in Taeil’s arms. "The password is on a sticky note inside. If you need anything you have my number!"

And with that, he was off. Taeil quickly saved the number Lucas had called him with earlier. He had a feeling he was going to need that.

***

Thankfully the rain had stopped on his way back to his apartment. Surprisingly the universe had decided to give him a little slack at that point. Probably thought he had suffered enough.

He decided that if he was going to take on the challenge that was currently sitting in his backpack tonight, not to mention the school work he now is forced to do in the evenings he might need a bit of a pick-me-up.

Aroma Mocha was a small coffee shop, yet it still had a decent seating area and tables big enough to spread out textbooks and other materials. Aka one of Taeil’s favorite spots to study. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, but very much less so than his bed at home thankfully. No matter how disciplined Taeil liked to tell himself he was, the temptation of sleep always won.

While early morning had been his usual visiting time, he wasn’t shy to stop by for a coffee in the evenings after he got done with classes, so he knew it wouldn’t be too busy. Taeil thought he might as well knock out two birds with one stone and get a head start on figuring out this apparent enigma of a computer while he was there.

While it was busier than he had expected it to be, there were still plenty of tables open. He put his things down in his favorite spot, one tucked away in the back corner. This way he had the perfect balance of distractions, still placed in a bustling coffee shop yet tucked away in the corner where no one would bother him.

Other than the pleasant, almost perfect, atmosphere, Aroma Mocha had the best coffee in town. They were slightly hidden away, and if you didn’t know about them then you probably would miss out. But the thing that kept them in business was hands down their coffee. No matter what you ordered, and mind you Taeil had tried almost everything on the menu, it was amazing. A joy ride for your taste buds was what Doyoung liked to say. Almost every customer was a regular, drawn back again and again, almost as if there was some kind of spell on the place.

While Taeil did, in fact, visit practically every day, if not twice a day, the barista working would almost always have to ask his order because he rarely got the same drink twice in a row. He was one for routine in his personal life, but when it came to his coffee choices he liked to mix it up.

"I didn’t see you this morning Taeil! Are you sick! You look awful! I’ll give you a discount for sure… It looks like you’ve been hit by a truck!"

Taeil sighed and let his head hit the high-top counter.

"Hey Jungwoo."

Jungwoo was the owner of Aroma Mocha ever since his parents decided to move to Hawaii, convinced that opening another small coffee shop there was the best way for them to "retire". Thus leaving Jungwoo alone to run this shop. He also was known as Taeil’s only friend outside Doyoung.

"If I call you on my way over here in the mornings and give you my order could you have it made for me to pick up," Taeil managed to squeak out, guilt that he was somehow letting Jungwoo down filled his chest.

"Huh? What are you saying… are you not spending your mornings here anymore?" Jungwoo looked like he was on the verge of tears. Which was exactly what Taeil was worried about. It wasn’t that hard to make Jungwoo cry, but that didn’t mean Taeil didn’t feel like crying himself every time it happened.

"Please don’t be upset! I couldn’t get my schedule to work out for this semester, so I’m forced to take morning classes. I promise I’ll still come and grab a coffee here in the mornings or come and hang out in the evenings!"

"Okay… That works. I guess…" Jungwoo was still sporting the teary-eyed look, but it seemed like Taeil had calmed him down enough.

"Good! How about a café leche today? I haven’t had one in a while! Is Renjun here? He always makes it the best."

Jungwoo started working on his drink while continuing the conversation, "Naw, I gave all the baby high schoolers off today because it was their first day back as well."

Surprisingly enough with it being a college town, Jungwoo never hired college students. Frankly, he never hired anyone older than 19. He says it’s because he wants to help the youth or something, but Taeil is pretty sure he just doesn’t want to hire anyone older than him because he feels he won’t be taken seriously. Which makes sense. Jungwoo is someone you just want to baby, and he can’t have employees wanting to baby the boss.

"Okay, that will be $3.04,"  Jungwoo said while handing him the coffee.

"Huh? No discount after all?" Taeil pouts.

"No, you almost made me cry. No discount."

Taeil hands him a 5 dollar bill, then pockets the change and sticks the remaining dollar in the tip jar.

"You and your change," Jungwoo said rolling his eyes when he comes back to hand Taeil his drink.

Taeil smiled at Jungwoo and shrugged before turning around to make his way back to his seat. He somehow didn’t realize that there was an actual giant behind him and proceeds to collide straight into him. Spilling hot café leche down the front of the man.

Taeil gasped before quickly turning around to grab some napkins to try to undo some of the mess he just created.

"Oh my god, I am so  _so_ sorry," Taeil found himself saying for the second time that day, face beet red, completely beyond embarrassed. This day really is just getting better and better!

A few seconds of practically throwing an entire box of napkins at the man, he realizes that he is, in fact, wearing an apron. One that Taeil has seen before, many times, hundreds of times maybe. He freezes as he reads "Aroma Mocha" embroidered on the front.

"Huh? You work here? How?" Taeil didn’t mean for his words to come out sounding so rude. But he’s genuinely taken aback. There is no way Jungwoo hired this guy. He’s definitely older than him and even had a few inches on skyscraper Jungwoo. There is no way this guy works here.

"Um yeah, I’m new," he laughed, and that’s when Taeil finally got a good look at his face. He was handsome? And wait. How is this guy so proportional??

"Yeah I’m really sorry about spilling coffee on you but there is no way Jungwoo would ever hire someone as handsome as you."

As if going back in time Taeil froze and his cheeks once again turned a shade of scarlet. Did he really just say that… OUT LOUD.

At this, the man in front of him looked like he was about to fall over with how hard he was laughing. And Taeil? He just wanted to throw up.

"Here." Jungwoo was suddenly next to him, a fresh coffee in hand. "That’s Johnny by the way. He’s here to help out since the babies are back in school. Running this place by myself during the day last year was a no go."

Beyond mortified Taeil quickly grabbed the cup and mumbled some kind of response before gathering his things and leaving as quickly as he could manage.

He swore he could still hear that Johnny guy’s laugh when he dropped the change from his pocket in the jar next to his bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/kennaloveskpop?t=1548037588)   
>  [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kennaloveskpop?lang=en)


	2. Chapter 2

Taeil probably had over 20 mason jars filled with change stacked up in his closet. The one he was currently working on filling was sitting on his nightstand next to his bed. At the end of every day, he would empty his pockets of any change he had collected. There were very few days that he didn’t contribute to the jar, even if it was just a few cents.

He had been collecting change for the last four years, and quite honestly was surprised he didn’t have more change saved up by now, but who’s counting. All his friends (read: Doyoung and Jungwoo) were low key annoyed with this hobby. The biggest thing bothering Doyoung was that Taeil had to go to the atm once a week and pull out cash from his checking account because college students typically didn’t pay him for repairing their wrecked laptops in cash, usually he just accepted payment via Venmo and what not. But seeing as the atm charged him a fee to take out money, Doyoung was convinced that it wasn’t worth it, stating that he was losing just as much money as he was saving. Which Taeil knew for a fact did not happen, because the first time Doyoung brought that idea up he compared what he saved that week again the fee amount, and the difference was big enough for it not to be _that_ big of a deal. Regardless Doyoung thought it was a waste of money.

Jungwoo, on the other hand, was annoyed for another reason. That being, he was planning on making the café go cashless last year, as 99% of the customers paid with a card, but Taeil practically was on his knees begging Jungwoo not to. As Aroma Mocha was where he spent the most cash, it would definitely put a dent in his savings. Truthfully, if it had been any other person on the face of the earth, they would have laughed in Taeil’s face, it wasn’t his business to run after all. Yet it wasn’t anyone else, it was Kim Jungwoo. Aka someone who is relatively easily swayed _especially_ by the people who he held a soft spot for. So even though Jungwoo was slightly annoyed that he still had to deal with cash and picked on Taeil every day he handed him his change, he wasn’t _that_ upset because he was helping his friend.

To call it an unhealthy hobby was definitely a stretch, but that didn’t mean he did not take it seriously.

Doyoung heard the clanking of the change hit the glass and popped his head into Taeil’s room.

"Jungwoo texted me. He wanted me to check on you."

He said that like it was a statement, not a question, most likely only walking in to tell him because he was curious. Doyoung wasn’t one to do things people told him to do. In fact, he had a huge problem with authority, but that was another problem entirely.

Taeil knew Doyoung was coming from a good place, even if he was being a bit abrasive.

"Can you call him and ask him about the new barista?" Taeil already knew the answer, Doyoung didn’t even need to say anything, he just radiated _no_ energy.

" _Please_ Doyoung, I can’t set foot in there when he’s working, and you know how Jungwoo is! He will be upset if I ask, he will think something is wrong. So… can you?" Taeil asked, a pout forming on his face.

"Well, it seems like something is, in fact, wrong. What is it? Spill." Doyoung crossed his arms in front of himself, taking a defensive stance that just screamed _I’m not doing anything until you tell me what’s going on._

Taeil flopped back on his bed, sighing. "I spilled scorching hot coffee on him, then practically accused him of lying about the fact he worked there, then called him handsome."

"What the fuck?" Doyoung was laughing, hard. The kind of laughter that had him doubled over, smacking at his leg.

"How does that even happen? What kind of series of events!" Doyoung managed to spit out in between gasps of air.

"Stop laughing at me! It was humiliating! I would say I can’t show my face in that place again, but that would for sure make Woo cry and you know I couldn’t handle that! My conscience would be in shambles! Doyoung!"

Taeil got up and practically tackled Doyoung, he most likely did not hear a single word of what Taeil had just said because he was still laughing his head off.

"Okay fine. Fine! So, what do you want _me_ to do about this exactly?" Doyoung said after he had calmed down a bit.

'Just ask Jungwoo about him for me. At the _very_ least when his schedule is. I know you wouldn’t want to go all the way in just for that, so you can call if you want..." Taeil paused noticing Doyoung actually considering the request. "But you can’t let Jungwoo know I’m the one who wants to know!"

"And how the hell am I supposed to do that?" Doyoung squinted at him, arms finding themselves once again crossed over his chest.

"I don’t know! You’re smart! But please I’m begging!" Taeil was close to tears, humiliation still lingering. Something about his appearance at the moment must have convinced Doyoung because next thing Taeil knew he was saying okay.

"But under one condition." Doyoung clearly had something mischievous up his sleeve, but Taeil didn’t have room to say no. " _We_ are going to go back over there so I can see this handsome new barista man myself!" Doyoung let out one of his iconic yet sinister laughs, and Taeil had a feeling that he didn’t have a choice.

"But that defeats the purpose! I’m asking you to do this so that I don’t have to see that guy ever again, and you’re making me turn around and see him _right_ after the incident!" Taeil wasn’t angry, he expected something like this from Doyoung, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to whine about it.

"Well Taeil, it’s up to you. You want me to figure out his hours, we do it my way." And with that Doyoung walked out of Taeil’s room. "You coming or what?" he added as if already knowing what Taeil’s decision was.

Taeil was ready to cry from the day he just had, but to no surprise, the misery wasn’t over.

***

Taeil found himself once again standing in line at Aroma Mocha. This time, however, unsuccessfully hidden behind Doyoung.

"You’re back!" There was a laugh lacing Jungwoo’s voice, yet he didn’t seem all that surprised.

"Unfortunately," Taeil groaned.

"So, where’s the new guy? I’ve heard a lot about him," Doyoung asked, sporting a smirk.

"He’s in the back. Do you want me to go get him?"

"Yes, that would be lovely Jungwoo!"

If Taeil didn’t love Doyoung he would have strangled him on the spot. Instead, he opted for trying to escape. Unfortunately, that didn’t go as planned either, Doyoung quickly grabbed his arm in some sort of death grip Taeil was unaware he was even capable of.

Johnny finally walked out of the backroom, smile not wavering even when he made eye contact with the person who had spilled scorching hot coffee on him, among other things, not even an hour ago. Taeil felt like he should officially apologize to Johnny, regardless of how embarrassed he felt, yet he was sure his voice would give away his nerves, so he decided to remain quiet. Thankfully Doyoung spoke up before the silence got too awkward.

"Taeil here told me there was a handsome new Barista so I, of course, had to come to check you out myself. I can see he wasn’t wrong."

Taeil instantly regretted feeling relieved that Doyoung had spoken up and instead full out panicked. He needed to get out of that coffee shop asap. Maybe he actually wouldn't feel too bad about killing Doyoung after all.

Unfortunately, Doyoung still held him in his clutches as he continued talking. "So pretty boy, what’s your schedule like here?" Taeil might have been hallucinating at that point but he could have sworn he saw Doyoung wink. Doyoung does _not_ do flirting. Taeil knows it’s his least favorite activity. _But_ Doyoung’s favorite activity was torturing Taeil so while this whole situation was very out of character for him, Taeil honestly couldn’t put it past him. He was _suffering_ and Doyoung was loving every minute.

"According to the boss here," Johnny said gesturing towards Jungwoo, "I’ll be working Monday-Friday, open until 3. I have class in the evenings so it works out." Johnny, who frankly looked quite unfazed from Doyoung’s antics, smiled at the two of them, happy to oblige their possibly too personal questions.

Taeil breathed his very first sigh of relief of the day. This was perfect. He would be able to avoid Johnny after all. Now, time to escape so he can start doing just that.

Taeil bowed, truthfully to avoid Johnny’s gaze. "I’m truly sorry for what I said earlier, that was completely uncalled for. And for the whole coffee incident. Also, I’m sorry about my roommate too." The words came out hurried and jumbled, but understandable none the less.

Doyoung seemed surprised at Taeil’s sudden apology, and Taeil took that opportunity to escape from his grasp and practically run out of the place before he could hear Johnny’s response. 

He did hear Doyoung yell after him. Like hell was he going to turn back. Especially when he once again heard Johnny’s laugh, he knew he had to get out of there quick.

***

It was a while before Doyoung came back so Taeil assumed he decided to stay and get coffee and talk about how embarrassing Taeil was. Probably.

Taeil sighed. At least he knew when to avoid Johnny now, so that was a plus.

With Doyoung gone, he took the opportunity to look over the laptop still sitting in his backpack. He went to go turn it on, but nothing happened. Assuming it was out of battery he dug in his bag to see if he could find the charging cable only to figure out he was never given one.

Thankful he had saved Lucas’s number he quickly shot him a text.

**Taeil**

_Hey Lucas. It’s Taeil. You seemed to have forgotten to give me the charging cord for your laptop?_

_It’s not turning on._

_I hope that’s because it’s not charged…_

**Lucas**

_oh sorry lol!_

_im gonna be gone all day tomorrow but ill give you my address you can come pick it up_

_keys under the doormat_

_ill leave the charger on the kitchen counter_

 

Great. Now he had to practically break into some stranger’s house. He was starting to think this was some bad karma.

**Taeil**

_I don’t know if I really feel comfortable with that…_

_Are you sure that there won’t be another time we could meet up?_

 

**Lucas**

_naw man_

_unless you want to wait till the weekend_

_sorry :(_

 

Taeil really didn’t have an option. He needed to start working on the laptop as soon as possible before other jobs started to pile up. Not to mention school work.

He sighed and quickly typed out a reply, agreeing to stop by around 4 after he got out of his classes.

But right now, what Taeil really needed was sleep.

***

The smug look on Doyoung’s face when Taeil walked out to the kitchen the next morning made him want to crawl right back into bed.

"Johnny totally has a thing for you."

Yep. Back to bed it was.

"Ay! Get back here! I’m being honest. After you left yesterday, he wanted to know _all_ about you. So, you owe me double now." Doyoung was practically glowing, it was like he had won the lottery or something. He seemed to be enjoying this a little too much.

Taeil really didn’t like the idea of Johnny knowing about him. "He probably only asked about me so he knew where to find me to beat me up." He shuddered at the thought. Yep, there was no way he was surviving that, Johnny was probably a good 8 ft tall... probably. 

"Double?" Taeil cautiously added. 

"Okay, you weirdo, that’s definitely a wrong assumption. And yeah, since I talked you up to Johnny. I mean I _could_ have told him anything really. But I was nice, so you owe me." Doyoung took a sip of the tea he had made, strangely adding to the vibe that he was up to no good.

"Everyday I question whether you understand what the word friend means." Taeil sighed, it truly could be worse he thought.

"So yeah, I told him that you were such a mess because you had a fat crush on him. Look at that, I even did you two favors in one! Explained your weird behavior _and_ got you a boyfriend. Wow, best friend award goes to me!" Doyoung snickered, completely aware of what he had done and loving every second of it.

At this point, Taeil wouldn’t be surprised if he got struck by lightning next, twice.

***

Thankfully the rest of the day passed without issue. Although, he sure wasn’t looking forward to letting himself into Lucas’s place.

He followed the address to a pretty nice apartment complex, nothing extreme, just definitely more than Taeil could afford. Lucas must have some kind of money to be living here. It did explain the whole ‘I don’t care what it costs. Fix it’ fit that Lucas had thrown the day before.

He followed Lucas’s directions, using the guest code he gave him to enter the lobby, then took the elevator up to the third floor. Reluctantly he found the key and let himself inside.

Yeah, Taeil definitely couldn’t afford this place.

He made his way to the kitchen, but unsurprisingly the charging cable wasn’t there. Taeil let out a groan before fishing his phone out of his pocket to call Lucas.

"Taeil?"

The voice had come from behind him, thinking it was Lucas he turned around expecting to be relieved as he could finally grab the cord and go.

But no. Nothing in Taeil’s life has been seeming to go right.

It just had to have been Johnny, standing across the hallway wielding a fucking bat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taeil has been cursed, Doyoung’s a bit of an ass, and I am so sorry.
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> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/kennaloveskpop?t=1548037588)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kennaloveskpop?lang=en)


	3. Chapter 3

"You’re not Lucas."

"Nope, I’m not."

Taeil was about to cry. He knew this was a bad idea, but he really didn’t think it could have gone _this_ bad.

"Of _course_ you’re not. I just broke into some god damn strangers house and that stranger had to be you of all people because the universe is out to get me." Taeil slapped his hands over his face and sighed. He knew he was bright red and honestly just wanted to dig a hole in the floor right then and there and disappear into it.

"Well… Lucas does live here. He just didn’t tell me you were, uh… stopping by." Johnny lowered the bat he had in his hand and hid it behind his back as if to conceal that he had it in the first place. The fact he had a bat alone made Taeil want to laugh a little because Johnny was practically a giant and could most definitely take on whoever dared walk through his door.

So that’s what he did, laugh. Although it might have just been from being under immense stress for the past 48 hours. It started off as a chuckle, but then grew to Taeil having to wipe away tears he was laughing so hard.

Johnny looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

"I’m sorry," Taeil said as soon as he calmed down. "It’s just… funny you brought out a bat. I mean you are kind of intimidating, I think if I were an actual intruder you would be just fine without a weapon."

It was Johnny’s turn to chuckle. "You have a strange impression of me Moon Taeil."

Taeil was surprised at first by the fact that Johnny knew his full name but quickly remembered that Doyoung had opened his big mouth about him.

"Oh my god wait. This probably seems so weird to you! Let me explain!" Panic bubbled up in Taeil’s chest. Not only had he already acted quite strange in front of Johnny before _and_ Doyoung probably had said some interesting things about him, but now he was suddenly standing in his kitchen for no apparent reason. "I’m fixing Lucas’s computer and he forgot to give me his charging cable, and he said to just come by and pick it up because he was going to be away. And also, I don’t have a crush on you." The words all tumbled out in a hurry.

"You have a crush on me?" A small smirk crept onto Johnny’s face.

"No! I _don’t_ have a crush on you. Oh my god- I’m just gonna go." Taeil quickly made his way to the door, yet again running away from embarrassing himself in front of Johnny. Taeil did _not_ like the idea of this becoming a recurring event.

"Taeil wait." Johnny reached out and grabbed his arm as he was walking by.

No. No, this was not happening. Taeil really needed Johnny to let him go. He thought he had made himself clear. So why was Johnny stopping him like they were in some fucking drama!? Taeil froze, quickly considering his options. Running seemed like the most plausible, but he wanted to make sure Johnny for sure knew he was nowhere near interested in him. Before he had a chance to decided what to do Johnny spoke up.

"Don’t you need a charging cable?"

Oh.

Taeil let out an awkward laugh and nodded. He then made a mental note to stop overthinking situations.

Johnny went over to the living room and unplugged a cord from the wall.

"This is actually mine, but we have the same laptop so it should be fine."

"Are you sure? What about your laptop?" Taeil asked, confused.

"Chances are the cord is in his bag, which he took with him. And even if it’s not, he’s such a mess I wouldn’t know where to look for it in the first place." Johnny smiled and handed him the cord. "It’s really fine!"

"Okay… Well, I guess I can stop by the café to give it back to you as soon as his laptop is all charged…" Taeil said carefully. Frankly, he did not fancy the idea of having to run into Johnny again, but it really was the least he could do. He really needed to start working on Lucas’s laptop.

"See you then!" Johnny practically gave him a blinding smile and Taeil truthfully did not know what to make of it.

"Yeah… sure. Bye Johnny."

"Bye Moon ‘doesn’t have a crush on me’ Taeil!"

Taeil quickly spun around and left. Face burning. He was definitely going to kill Doyoung.

***

Taeil busted through the door of his and Doyoung’s apartment right as Doyoung was getting ready to leave.

Taeil slapped him, rather lightly in all honestly, on the arm. "Why did you have to tell Johnny I have a crush on him!" A pout clearly settled on his lips.

A flash of surprise ran across Doyoung’s face. "Huh? Wait. What happened?"

"I ran into him." Taeil decided to spare Doyoung of the whole story, as frankly, it would just give him more content to tease Taeil with. "And I tried to tell him that I, in fact, did not have a crush on him despite what you said."

Doyoung actually snorted. "Taeil. I was _joking_. I mean he did ask about you. But I was just picking on you about telling Johnny you had a crush on him." He let out a single laugh, clearly enjoying the unfolding situation. "I can’t believe you actually brought it up to him thinking I was serious!"

Taeil was beyond exasperated at this point. "What do you mean Doyoung! Why would I have not believed you!" Taeil let his back hit the door behind him and slid down until his butt hit the ground. He probably had sounded like a lunatic! He wouldn’t be surprised if Johnny puts out a restraining order on him at this point. I mean he pretty much broke into his apartment. Every situation that Taeil continued to find himself in with Johnny he was making a complete fool out of himself. And now he had his charging cable that he had to somehow give back to him. After their first encounter, he was embarrassed enough to know he had to avoid the man, yet he somehow ended up in front of him two more times following that. And now was facing a possible third!

"Look Taeil, I’m really sorry for lying to you. I promise to buy you a meal or something to make it up to you! But I’ve really got to leave for work and you having an existential crisis in front of the door is making it hard for me to do that."

Taeil knew that Doyoung was trying his best to apologize and that he would never mean for any harm to ever come Taeil's way, even if he was quite brash. He sighed and reached a hand out to Doyoung. Doyoung grabbed it and helped Taeil up, but before he could let go Taeil quickly took the opportunity to squeeze Doyoung into a tight hug.

"Okay, okay. You know how I feel about hugs," Doyoung said, voiced strained from Taeil’s crushing embrace.

"Yeah of course. That’s why I’m suffocating you with one right now. It’s your punishment."

***

After Taeil’s two days from hell, life seemed to settle down after that. For a few days at least.

He still was uncomfortably busy with his new schedule and fixing Lucas’s demon of a laptop, but he had been successfully avoided Johnny.

After his unfortunate encounter with him in his apartment, Lucas has texted apologizing for the mess. He seemed quite excited at the coincidence that Taeil and Johnny had known each other, but Taeil had refrained from mentioning that he felt the complete opposite. He had instead let Lucas know that his computer was pretty much dead, but he could fix it temporarily.

 

**Lucas**

_as long as you can get her up and running thats all that matters my man!!_

_ill just bring her back to you when she breaks again!_

 

Taeil did not like the idea of having to perpetually fix Lucas’s computer, but he was really skeptical it would even last another fix.  

 

**Taeil**

_Yeah…_

_Well, I should be done on Friday. If you’re around, we can meet up so I can give you it back._

_Also… Could you possibly let Johnny know that I won’t be able to give his charger back to him before then?_

**Lucas**

_you dont have his number?_

_whats up with that?_

_i thought you guys were like friends?_

_but yeah ill tell him and fridays chill!!_

_5pm @ the café???_

 

**Taeil**

_Okay, awesome! See you then!_

**Lucas**

_thanks man ill venmo you!_

 

Taeil chose to ignore the "I thought you were like friends?" question. He was far from friends with Johnny, but his happy go lucky roommate didn’t need to know that. The less he involved himself with Johnny related things, the better off he would be.

Unfortunately, he was only allotted two good days after two terrible ones.

Those past two days Taeil had found himself at Aroma Mocha after class, plenty late enough to where he could avoid Johnny, but still have enough time to study and work. And Jungwoo was quite happy to have his best friend back on a regular visiting schedule. While it wasn’t ideal, it still checked all of his ‘to do’ boxes.

He thought he had been lucky enough to get another normal day, making three in a row, until he received a text at 4:55 pm that Friday. The Friday he was supposed to be meeting up with Lucas to return his "fixed" laptop.

He had been at the café for a while now, deciding to get there at his normal time to get some work done before meeting up with Lucas. But then his phone buzzed.

 

**Lucas**

_hey man!_

_sorry i totally forgot to text you!_

_but something big came up and i wont be able to be there today_

_BUT DONT WORRY!_

_im sending johnny over to pick it up!_

 

Panic washed over Taeil. Why did fate hate him so much! Before he even had time to think of a way out of this, he looked up and saw Johnny walking in. And oh god, Johnny had already spotted him. There was physically no way out of this situation, nor any time to prepare.

Taeil quickly dug through his bag to retrieved the laptop. But before he could successfully get it out Johnny was right in front of him once again.

"I see Lucas actually told you I was coming, surprising."

"Oh! Yeah… He actually just now texted me." And there it was, Taeil’s notorious awkward laugh.

Taeil couldn’t help but he nervous, Johnny probably wanted nothing to do with him but here he was practically being forced to see him. And of course, the zipper had to be stuck on his bag and his shaking hands were doing nothing to help.

Clearly seeing that Taeil was struggling, Johnny reached out and grabbed the zipper instead. His hands brushed across Taeil’s and Taeil was quick to pull them away, as though he had gotten burned.

"Here let me." Johnny’s blinding smile yet again made another appearance. It made Taeil feel weird, he didn’t like it.

"Oh. Okay." Usually, in a situation like this, Taeil would refuse and just do it himself. But the idea of accidentally touching Johnny’s hand again made his stomach knot. He was used to feeling anxious around people, but this was different, and Taeil didn’t like different.

Johnny managed to get the laptop out, along with his charger. "I’m assuming this is mine?" Johnny said, holding up the charging cable, a mischievous smile now painting his face.

Still clutching his hands together Taeil responded. "Oh yeah… Sorry I couldn’t give it back sooner. Did Lucas let you know I needed it for a little while longer than planned?"

This made Johnny laugh. "No, he did not." With his free hand, Johnny reached out towards Taeil. "Here, give me your phone I’ll put my number in."

"Huh? Why?" A light blush dusted Taeil’s face. Why was Johnny giving him his number? And why did he have to go and ask why!?  
The familiar feeling of embarrassment once again washed over Taeil.

"Don’t get me wrong, Lucas is a super reliable guy, he just is a bit forgetful. This way he won’t have to be our middle man." Johnny stretched his hand out further as if insisting Taeil hand his phone over.

He thought about it for half a second more before giving in and handing his phone over. At least this probably meant Johnny didn’t think he was too weird, right?

After a few taps, Johnny locked his phone and handed it back to him. "Thanks for fixing Lucas’s laptop, I know he’s kind of particular about it, so thanks again for trying."

"Oh yeah… um, it’s really no problem. I mean he paid me so its kinda my job." Taeil’s hand found itself running along the back side of his neck as he tried so hard not to sound awkward.

Johnny gave him a soft smile. "See you around Moon Taeil."

Taeil was going to respond but the fact that Johnny followed up that goodbye with a wink really put him at a loss for words. What the hell was that about? And why did it make him feel so weird?

The good news was he wasn’t _terribly_ awkward in front of Johnny this time, and Johnny seemed relatively unbothered by him which was surprising considering everything that had happened. However, Taeil was left with a strange feeling in his chest that he did not know how to describe. And he wasn’t sure if he liked it.

Taeil ended up just shrugging it off, another reason to avoid him he thought.

That is until he got his second shocking text of the day. 

 

**My Crush Johnny <3 **

_Hope you don’t mind I saved your number as well!_

_You intrigue me Moon Taeil._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every comment I’ve received has been super sweet so far, but don’t feel afraid to leave some conservative criticism too!! I would very much like to improve my writing :) thx for reading luv you all lol
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> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/kennaloveskpop?t=1548037588)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kennaloveskpop?lang=en)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my first ever work got 100 kudos recently, and I know that’s probably not that amazing, but it really means a lot to me. So, thank you so so so much to all of you who have read my work and given it kudos (this fic included) I LOVE ALL YALL 
> 
> ANYWAY! Longest chapter yet! Enjoy!!

Taeil could hardly believe what he was seeing on his phone screen. He felt his stomach drop and heart pound in his chest. The first thing that triggered his shock was the name. It took him a moment to fully understand what he was reading as he was clearly flustered, but Johnny must have set his own name like that in his phone. Taeil thought Doyoung was bad, but at least he was close with him. He barely knew Johnny and he was already picking on him.

The second thing he noticed was the messages Johnny had sent. Johnny had somehow found time to save his number? He unlocked his phone and found that Johnny had apparently sent himself the heart emoji. Figures. So that’s how he had his number. Already feeling unsettled by the contact Johnny had set himself as Taeil didn’t even want to guess what the second message was about.

"You intrigue me Moon Taeil."

Taeil did not know what that meant, and he sure as hell did not want to find out. No matter what way Taeil considered Johnny could have meant that he couldn’t see it being a good thing. Yet that didn’t change the fact that Taeil couldn’t get the message out of his head.

Taeil shook his head as if to shoo away the thought. He instead pulled up Johnny’s contact info in order to change the embarrassing name. But before he got the chance to, another message popped up on his screen.

 

**My Crush Johnny <3**

_Oh, and I know you’re probably thinking about changing my name in your phone._

_Don’t._

 

Taeil’s head snapped up, Johnny had to have been watching him. How else would he have known what he was about to do? His eyes scanned around the café, and then out the window, but there was no sign of Johnny.

"How did he know? Creepy," Taeil whispered under his breath as he put his phone away. Screw changing the contact name, at this point Taeil just wanted to block his number. But something in him truthfully didn’t want to do that either. Frustrated, he decided ignoring Johnny’s texts would suffice for now.

Unfortunately, Taeil quickly realized that wouldn’t be possible either.

***

The weekend passed relatively smoothly. Taeil was thankful for the break, as his first week back at school wasn’t one he ever wanted to experience again.

Taeil laid down on his bed, ready to call it an early night so he wouldn’t be too tired having to wake up early for class the next day. He had already made that mistake one too many times the week before. Taeil quickly realized that he had forgotten to turn his ringer off, as he heard his phone buzz from across the room. But he was already quite comfortable, squished between his mattress and approximately seven layers of blankets, not to mention the large collection of pillows surrounding his head. Once Taeil was in the paradise that he called his bed, just about nothing would be able to get him out.

The only problem was he knew exactly who was texting him, and this person didn’t just send one text at a time.

The only hitch to Taeil’s perfect weekend was the fact that Johnny had been incessantly texting him. Although it wasn’t necessarily nonstop, texts came flooding in at random times of the day, presumably when Johnny was bored. Essentially Taeil would go through the day and not receive a single text from Johnny, assuming he had given up, just to be given probably around 30 within a time span of an hour later that evening.

It was clear that Johnny was just picking on him, doing all this to bother Taeil, so he refused to message back. Every time he saw the first message from Johnny, he turned off his ringer until he was sure Johnny was done having his fun. Ninety percent of the messages were Johnny asking him why he wasn’t responding to his ‘crush’ anyways. Taeil quickly got the impression that he would never let him live that one down.

Taeil knew he shouldn’t have let it bother him. Johnny was probably just someone who had too much time on his hands and found fun picking on him. Taeil was used to that. But this was different. He knew he should have probably just blocked Johnny when the incessant texting started. Unfortunately, Taeil’s curiosity was getting the best of him.

While Johnny’s antics were insanely annoying, he texts always started off really sweet. Like telling Taeil good morning or goodnight, or asking him how his day was or if he had eaten. It was only after Taeil wouldn’t respond when Johnny would start to pester him. It was never mean though, truly it was borderline whiny, but almost always felt like a joke, like Johnny knew exactly what he was doing.

 

**My Crush Johnny <3**

_Goodnight Moon!_

_Oh. That’s cute. Why haven’t I said that sooner?_

_It’s like the book, you know!!_

_Taeilllll_

_Why won't you ever respond :(_

_I know you like me ;D_

_Helloooooo_

_Well, I’m just going to pretend like you’re asleep instead of ignoring me._

_I bet you won’t want to ignore me tomorrow!!!!!_

 

Taeil instantly regretted his choice to get out of bed. And he sure wasn’t looking forward to whatever Johnny had in mind for tomorrow. Taeil felt a strange sensation in his chest and instantly regretted looking up at himself in the mirror. He was smiling. Taeil shut his phone off and tossed it to the other side of the room, wanting to get it as far away from himself as possible.

Face buried in his mountain of pillows Taeil sighed. Johnny was acting like a child, but Taeil somehow found it slightly endearing. What was happening to him?

***

Taeil hadn’t heard from Johnny until he was well into his second class of the day.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and quickly pulled it out. He was expecting a ‘good morning’ but what he received was quite the opposite.

 

**My Crush Johnny <3**

_If you don’t text me back today, I’m going to tell Jungwoo about your little crush on me!!_

_[video sent]_

 

What Taeil hadn’t noticed was that the first text had been sent over 20 minutes ago. He must have not realized since it would have been right around the time that his class had started. What had been sent most recently was a video. He obviously couldn’t click on it at the moment, but it was clearly of Jungwoo.

Panic rushed through Taeil. Jungwoo was one of the sweetest people Taeil had ever met. He was the kind of person who would never doubt the ones he trusted. Gullible to put it rudely. There was no doubt in Taeil’s mind that Jungwoo would believe every word out of Johnny’s mouth.

Johnny was clearly some sort of trickster, Taeil thought. How else would have gotten a job at the café, _and_ Taeil’s number at that! He doesn’t give his personal number out to just everyone you know! Taeil knew this would be bad for him. Jungwoo was the last person in his life who currently didn’t think that Johnny and he had something going on, and he really wanted it to stay that way. Aroma Mocha was his safe space, and Johnny had already tried to ruin it once.

Taeil quickly typed out a message before he could overthink it.

**Taeil**

_I’m in class._

Not his best work but it should do.

He turned off his phone after that, knowing that it would just be a distraction throughout the rest of the class. Not to mention he was slightly freaking out, and couldn’t bear to know how Johnny would respond. But that really didn’t seem to help.

He had plans to meet Doyoung for lunch, which he was looking forward to because he needed some advice asap. While Doyoung wasn’t one to sugar coat things, he always knew how to make Taeil feel better. Plus, this lunch was Doyoung’s apology for helping to start this mess, so Taeil could count on him toning down the sass for once.

Doyoung had shown up ten minutes late.

"Did you see my text? You never responded," Doyoung said, clearly guilty about arriving late.

They were sat at a small ramen shop, Taeil’s favorite. Taeil had found the place his freshman year and introduced it to Doyoung when he came to the university. Both Doyoung and himself were pretty healthy eaters, especially for being college students, but neither of them could resist this place. They agreed to only come on special occasions, in an attempt to save their diets and wallets. However, they often broke that rule, claiming every small success as a celebration. Neither of them ever complained.

"I’m scared to turn my phone on." Taeil looked up at Doyoung with big round worry filled eyes, clutching his phone close to his chest.

"Huh? Why?" Doyoung paused giving Taeil a quizzical look. "Oh wait… Does this have something to do with Johnny?" A smirk found its way onto Doyoung’s lips. "What happened?"

Taeil sighed, letting his shoulders fall a little. "Well, you know he’s been texting me nonstop since Friday. This morning he sent a text saying that he was gonna tell Woo about me having a crush on him, and you know how he is! Well, I didn’t see the text until it was too late and the next thing I know I receive a video from him probably telling him!"

"Probably?" Doyoung refrained from commenting on Taeil’s word choice when describing the _crush_ business, although he made a mental note to not completely brush it off.

"Yeah, I was scared to look…"

"Here, I’ll look." Doyoung made a grab for Taeil’s phone, and he didn’t protest handing it over. "But Taeil, why would it matter if Jungwoo knew? Yeah, he might believe Johnny at first, but I’m pretty sure he would take your word over his in the end." Doyoung paused, leaning a little closer to his friend in front of him. "That is… unless you really do like Johnny."

Taeil felt his face flush, wishing the redness wouldn’t always give away how he was feeling. "No! No I- I don’t- I don’t know how I feel!" Taeil groaned and hid his face in his arms on the table. "I always embarrass myself in front of him, so I thought I wanted to avoid him forever. But he doesn’t act like I’m weirding him out or irritating him." Taeil’s voice was muffled by the sleeves of his jacket. He raised his head up to peak at Doyoung who surprisingly hadn’t said anything yet, he seemed genuinely interested, so Taeil continued. "If anything… he’s the one irritating me. But he’s not. His texts are so dumb, but they also are kind of cute?" Taeil huffed and once again buried his face away. "I don’t know Doyoung!" he whined.

When Taeil looked back up again Doyoung was looking at his phone.

"Dang his texts are cute. Ew."

"Hey! You're supposed to be looking at the video!" Taeil reached across the table in an attempt to stanch his phone back with no success.

"Yeah I’m trying!" Doyoung said, hand raised in the air holding Taeil’s phone out of reach. "But he has sent like a million messages since then."

Taeil leaped up to get a better reach. "What! No stop! Let me see them!"

Doyoung was craning his neck so he could still see the phone while simultaneously keeping it away from Taeil. "Wait, I found the video."

With that Taeil sat back down in his seat as if pulled there by magnets.

Doyoung held the phone up to his ear to hear better before scoffing and giving Taeil an annoyed look. "Yeah you just freaked out over nothing."

Taeil froze. "Huh?!"

Doyoung turned up the volume and held the phone out to him. Taeil can clearly hear Johnny’s voice say "Hey Zeus! I’ve got something really interesting to tell you!" and then the video cuts.

"I mean yeah, he could have told him off camera, but what I got from the fifty texts he sent you afterward, he’s just excited you responded."  

Taeil let out a breath feeling relieved and finally took the phone. Looking over the unread texts, he felt a smile creep over his face.

 

**My Crush Johnny <3**

_WHAT YOU ACTUALLY RESPONDED_

_All it took was me threatening you!_

_Wait._

_That’s terrible!_

_I’m really awful._

_I promise I won’t do anything that low ever again!_

_(also don’t worry I didn’t tell Jungwoo)_

_But I can if you want me to ;p_

_Omg sorry._

_You finally responded and I’m still being a creep_

_:”(_

 

"Look I didn’t want to say this earlier because you looked really distressed, but you’re so whipped."

"Shut up Doyoung!"

***

The week past in a blur. Taeil had given in and started texting Johnny back more often. Still not as much as Johnny would most likely wanted, but it was something. For a moment there, Johnny’s slightly intimidating nature was fading away with every clingy text he sent Taeil. But as soon as Johnny had gotten what he wanted, aka Taeil to text him back, the slightly aloof nature came back full force.

Who was this guy, and why was he so damn confusing?

Taeil chalked it up to Johnny just acting annoying to get Taeil’s attention. Taeil would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little disappointed. He would never admit it out loud, but he kind of liked seeing Johnny’s over the top texts on his phone. However, Taeil ultimately decided a toned-down version of that would be for the best. Or rather the best for Taeil’s heart.

It was strange texting Johnny. He would usually text Taeil in the evenings and ask about how his day went. The conversation never went that far, mostly because Taeil was apprehensive about the whole thing, still confused as to why Johnny was even messaging him in the first place, yet he wouldn’t dare to ask.

This went on until Friday. Taeil was sat in Aroma Mocha after his classes like always, getting some work done before he officially started his weekend. He barely noticed someone walking up to him until they pulled out the chair in front of him and sat down. Taeil looked up surprised to see it was Johnny.

"Oh," Taeil managed to squeak out. Every time he saw Johnny it was like his fight or flight instincts took over. He thought talking to him on a regular basis would help this, but it clearly didn’t. It really didn’t help that he was wearing tight jeans and a t-shirt that hung off him just right. Taeil was confused as to why he was even here. _Don’t you have afternoon classes?_

"I don’t have class on Fridays," Johnny smirked. Taeil physically startled, did he just say that _out loud._ Could Taeil just act normal around Johnny _once?_

Taeil forced out a laugh as he felt his face redden.

"I thought I would find you here!" Johnny’s smirk turned into one of those big blinding smiles that Taeil didn’t know how to feel about. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Why was Johnny asking him this? Taeil’s brain instantly shut down while his mouth went on autopilot. "Well I’ve got two computers I need to look at, and a broken phone screen to fix. Also, I’ve got a paper to work on for Dr. Park’s class, and tomorrow is usually laundry day, and also I cook breakfast for Doyoung on Saturdays, and also I might need to-"  

Johnny cut him off before he could continue any further. "Taeil I’m asking you if you wanted to grab dinner?"

"Okay." What the hell?! Why did he just say that?! "Actually wait-" he quickly tried to retract his statement but clearly, the damage was already done.

"Really! Great! I’ll text you the details tomorrow?"

Taeil just shut his mouth and nodded before he could make the situation any worse than it already was.

And with that Johnny was gone as fast as he had shown up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidently made Johnny soft. I REALLY DIDN’T MEAN TO IM SORRY. Actually, I’m not sorry, it’s his true nature let’s be honest.
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> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/kennaloveskpop?t=1548037588)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kennaloveskpop?lang=en)


	5. Chapter 5

Taeil did not, in fact, get any of the things he told Johnny he was going to do today done. Instead, he spent the entire day nervously… existing. He could hardly sit still for longer than 30 minutes and spent most of his time rearranging the living room furniture to only put it back exactly the way it had been.

Doyoung was ready to find a new roommate.

Taeil’s nervous fiddling quickly got on Doyoung’s nerves, not only that, but he wouldn’t stop _talking_.

"I think I should cancel."

"Yeah, you probably should. Johnny definitely didn’t mean to ask you out or anything. It was probably a mistake." The sarcasm dripped from Doyoung’s voice, yet Taeil was too wound up to notice.

"Exactly! Okay, I’m going to text him."

Doyoung rolled his eyes and sighed. "No, you idiot. I was just mocking what you’ve been saying for the last- what has it been now? Five hours!" Doyoung stood up and shoved Taeil towards his room. "Plus, it’s way too late to cancel now. I’ll help you get ready instead."

Taeil was thankful for the distraction, even if meant he would actually have to go. It’s not like he didn’t want to go, he just couldn’t remember the last time he had went on a date. And truthfully, he didn’t even know if this _was_ a date at all! Doyoung kept insisting it was, but Johnny didn’t say it was… so how could he know for sure! He was freaking out, to say the least, and was very grateful that Doyoung was the one choosing what he should wear. Even on a good day, Taeil’s fashion was similar to a father in his middle 40’s. Nothing was wrong with that, some would even call it a fashion statement, but maybe not for a dinner date with tall and handsome Johnny, who looked amazing in everything that he put on his body.

It was still a bit warm out, but the fall air past sundown was coat worthy. Doyoung threw a few pieces on his bed. "Here try these."

He quite liked the striped button up and the thin baby pink sweater that Doyoung wanted him to layer. He had done a good job at picking out things that were nice, yet still screamed Moon Taeil. But when he pulled on the black skinny jeans, he wasn’t too sure. He never had worn them, stuffed in the back of his closet, definitely a gift from Doyoung (read: king of skinny jeans) a few years back. Taeil lived in baggy oversized pants, it was what he was comfortable in. Even his jeans were like that. His legs currently felt like they were being strangled to death.

"Don’t you dare take those pants off," Doyoung said, clearly sensing Taeil discomfort. "The only person allowed to take them off is Johnny Seo," he smirked clearly hiding a nerve in his older friend.

"Doyoung I swear to god," Taeil meant it to sound intimidating, but it came out more like a whine.

Doyoung laughed at Taeil’s horrified face. "Okay but seriously you look great in those pants and take your contacts out. Glasses would finish off this look perfectly!"

"Yeah, whatever," Taeil said before dragging his feet towards the bathroom.

"Oh! And I’ll do your hair too!"

***

They agreed to meet up at Aroma Mocha and then go to the restaurant from there. After Taeil pretty much begged him not to pick him up at his apartment, they agreed to meet somewhere more neutral. It’s not like he didn’t want Johnny to know where he lived or anything, but that was just too much for already overwhelmed Taeil. Not to mention he really didn’t need another Doyoung intervention.

Unfortunately, they ran into another one of Taeil’s nemeses anyway. Renjun was working tonight. The young boy was just about as witty and ruthless at Doyoung, except he was completely adorable and knew how to act like an innocent angel. So, when he came for your throat there really wasn’t much to be done about it.

Taeil arrived 15 minutes early. He wanted to beat Johnny there so he could have time to gather himself beforehand. But no. It was Johnny he was meeting with, of course he should have known he would be just as early. If he hadn’t been there first, Taeil could have planned ahead for Renjun working and intercepted Johnny at the door so they didn’t even have to walk in at all.

But that’s not how thing went down, because things never seem to go Taeil way.

"Hey hyung! Why are you dressed like that? You going on a date or something?" Renjun asked as soon as he walked through the door.

If Taeil hadn’t already made eye contact with Johnny he probably would have sprinted out of the place by now.

Taeil let out a nervous laugh before answering him. "What do you mean, I always dress like this." A blatant lie, one that he knew Renjun would not believe for a second. Yet, it was all he could think of on the spot as Johnny was strolling up to him at that very moment.

"Hey Taeil! Ready to go?" Johnny slung his arm around Taeil’s shoulder, smiling at him before looking up towards Renjun.

"No. You must be kidding me. _You’re_ the one Johnny is waiting on? _You’re_ going on a date with the infamous Johnny Seo?!" Renjun busted out laughing before quickly stopping, having made eye contact with Jungwoo who just happened to walk out from the back.

"Please don’t laugh at our lovely customers, it’s quite rude."

"But Johnny’s not a customer-" Jungwoo cut him off with a glare, quickly shooing him into the back.

"Bye now! Thanks for stopping in!" Jungwoo winked before turning back to his work.

Taeil in the meantime was praying for death.

"Why do you look so distraught!" Johnny seemed completely unfazed by what had just gone down, pushing him back out of the door he had just come in. "Come on Moon! Let’s go fill our bellies!"

Johnny’s goofy words made him crack a smile, but it would take a little more than that for him to forget about the humiliation he just had experienced.

By the time they made it the restaurant, however, Taeil had pretty much completely calmed down. Johnny led the conversation if you would call it that, more than happy to fill the silence with words. Taeil was grateful, it was so much easier listening to Johnny talk than actually having to carry the conversation himself. He would nod, or put in a few words here or there, but for the most part, the walk had given him a moment to forget about his embarrassment. And surprisingly, he didn’t feel nervous around Johnny like this.

Taeil quickly realized this wasn’t the kind of restaurant he would have expected Johnny to take him to. Taeil had tried to get him to tell him where they were going ahead of time, but Johnny insisted he wanted it to be a surprise. And surprised Taeil was.

Taeil felt like he had walked into the 50s as soon as he made it through the door. It was a small burger place that had the atmosphere of an old-timey soda shop. Pink and blue stripes lined the walls and the booths were even covered in that old type of vinyl fabric.

"This place has the absolute best milkshakes," Johnny commented after they found a seat. He quickly froze, "You don’t happen to have a dairy intolerance, do you?"

"Well-"

Johnny’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. "Oh my god, Taeil I am so sorry! The burgers are really great too! You’re not a vegetarian, right?" Without even giving Taeil a moment to answer he continued. "You probably are, aren’t you? Oh god, this is why I shouldn’t do surprises."

While Taeil enjoyed every second of flustered Johnny, as he was previously convinced such emotion could never overtake _the_ Johnny Seo, he decided to end his suffering sooner rather than later.

"Johnny… You literally made me a latte with regular milk like two mornings ago. I’m not lactose intolerant, nor a vegetarian."

Taeil burst out laughing at the look on Johnny’s face. So, this is what Doyoung felt like.

He hadn’t even meant to mislead Johnny, he had just completely cut him off and jumped to conclusions after one word.

"What I was going to say was that it actually runs in my family, my dad was. So, growing up we just never had dairy in the house, my dad was convinced that if there was any within walking distance, he would be too tempted to eat it. So, for a while when I was a kid, I just assumed I was intolerant too. But I’m not. I actually don’t prefer cow’s milk, but it’s cheaper, and when you literally buy at _least_ one coffee a day, it begins to add up," Taeil quietly laughed, quickly realizing this had probably been the most he had _ever_ said to Johnny.

"Ahhh okay," Johnny laughed. "Well, I am glad you aren’t lactose intolerant, or a vegetarian for that matter!"

He paused, as though considering whether or not to say the next thing on his mind. "Um… You totally don’t have to answer this, but ‘was’? I just noticed you talked about your dad it past tense..."

Before Taeil could answer a waitress came around to get their orders.  

"Sorry if that question was too forward," Johnny said after she had gone.

"No, it’s okay," Taeil smiled and took a deep breath calming his nerves. He _never_ talked about his dad. The fact that he had even brought him up was surprising. But something in Taeil wanted to tell Johnny the story. Maybe it was because he didn’t know him all that well, and sometimes it was easier to talk about those kinds of things with people who weren’t automatically supposed to pity you. Or maybe it was because for some reason he trusted Johnny. 

"He passed away when I was 16. It really feels like it was yesterday, not five whole years ago," Taeil paused to collect his thoughts, "He had a heart attack, so it was extremely sudden you could say," he could have ended it there, but something made him want to continue. "He used to collect change in this old water jug from the 90s, the ones that everyone used to have in their homes, you know. He would always call it his retirement change." Feeling emotion bubble in his chest, he tried his best to brush it off with a laugh. "So instead I collect change now. For him. Since he never got the chance to finish."

Taeil had _never_ told anyone about the real reason why he collected change. The only other person who knew was his own mother. But there he was telling Johnny of all people.

He tried not to think much about the fact that it had been so hard to talk about this kind of thing with anyone else in his life, yet here he was spilling his life story so some boy he met barely two weeks ago. Instead, he focused on Johnny and anticipated how he would respond.

Johnny nodded and gave him a soft smile. "I think that’s really honorable that you’re doing that for your dad. And thank you for opening up too, I can tell it’s not the easiest thing to talk about. Thank you Taeil, really."

There was no "I’m sorry" nor did his eyes hold the typical _I feel really bad_ look that most people got when they found out. Nothing was wrong with those reactions, of course. Taeil just never knew how to respond to them. So, he was taken aback by Johnny’s response, to say the least.

Taeil smiled back at Johnny, suddenly feeling very shy.

Thankfully the angel of a waitress arrived again at the perfect timing, delivering their food.

"Quick, huh!" Johnny was practically glowing with excitement simply brought on by the burger and shake in front of him.

Taeil just giggled in response.

The rest of the meal was spent on much lighter topics, to Taeil’s relief. He learned that Johnny was a history major and had the dream of working in the Natural History Museum in New York after he graduated.

They left the restaurant just in time for the sun to set under the horizon.

"I’ll walk you home since it’s getting kind of dark."

Taeil was still a little apprehensive about letting Johnny know where he lived, but he somehow found himself enjoying Johnny’s company, strangely.

The walk back was surprisingly silent, and Taeil wasn’t complaining. This evening had taken a lot out of him and to say he was exhausted was an understatement. Thankfully, Taeil lived relatively close by.

"You don’t have to walk me in, I promise I can make it from here," Taeil said as soon as they got to his apartment building. This way Johnny still didn’t know exactly where he lived. Just in case.

"I had a really great time. Thank you for letting me take you out," Johnny responded, an almost nervous smile settling on his face. "Also… I just want you to know that I _really_ like you Taeil."

***

"So how did it go with Johnny?!" Doyoung asked as soon as Taeil walked through the door of their apartment.

"Really good actually! I think he wants us to be friends!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OTHER UPDATES: ~if you’re interested~
> 
>  
> 
> [Tuesday Evening](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17602028)  
> (my finally competed markhyuck fic)  
> HERES A TASTE:  
> ‘I won’t ever push you, but you’re welcome to talk to me.’  
> Interlacing their fingers Mark responded only with a soft smile, and maybe, just maybe, Donghyuck saw that spark get a little brighter.
> 
>  
> 
> [What Goes Up Must Come Down](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15965783/chapters/37238270)  
> (my awfully cringy jaewoo fic which has been recently re-edited, not much has changed, unfortunately)  
> HERES A TASTE:  
> ‘Get home safely hyung- wait, what should I call you?’  
> ‘Just Jaehyun is fine, but I would prefer if you call me on the phone.’
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/kennaloveskpop?t=1548037588)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kennaloveskpop?lang=en)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short I am sorry you guys T_T I am feeling slightly burned out and honestly, I wasn’t convinced I was even uploading on time, and I literally wrote all of this today so sorry if it’s bad. 
> 
> BUT PLS DON’T WORRY ALL IS WELL!!!! 
> 
> Also! Thank you to everyone who wrote a comment on the last chapter!! I absolutely love reading them, you guys are adorable.

Doyoung looked at Taeil through squinted eyes.

"Why are you so excited about the fact that you think Johnny just wants to be friends? I thought this was a date…"

"Johnny doesn’t want to _date_ me, Doyoung," Taeil practically scoffed. "I’m happy because I made it through the whole thing without embarrassing myself, and for once I wasn’t helplessly nervous around him. You know how I am around new people, especially Johnny! So, I’m excited he said he likes me despite all the weirdness he has witnessed." Taeil let out a small laugh, obviously unaware of the astonished look on Doyoung’s face.

"Wait. Take it back a step, what _exactly_ did he say to you?" Doyoung quickly crossed the room to cut Taeil off who was walking into his room, apparently thinking the conversation was over.

Taeil huffed, "He said that he had a really good time, thanked me for letting him take me out and said that really liked me."

"Oh my god, you’re such an idiot."

Doyoung wasn’t laughing, which meant he was being serious. Taeil instantly panicked.

"What do you mean?" The words practically shot out of his mouth.

"Johnny likes you more than a friend Taeil," Doyoung paused, "Wait. What did you say after he said that?"

"Oh god, Doyoung! I said I liked him too!" Taeil buried his face in his hands. 'I meant it in a friendly way! I swear!"

"Taeil…" Doyoung patted him on the back reassuringly.

"Okay! But what if he didn’t mean it like that! You weren’t there, you didn’t hear him, how could you know for sure."

"How long are you going to stay in denial about this boy? He clearly likes you. No one is forcing you to like him back, but you need to at least open your eyes to the possibility that he has feelings for you or you are going to end up leading him on. If you haven’t done so already…"

Taeil knew Doyoung was making sense, yet something inside of him couldn’t believe that someone like Johnny could even like him as a friend, not to mention anything more than that. Suddenly, the high he had felt from earlier in the evening was gone and was replaced with instant guilt.

Was he really leading Johnny on? He didn’t mean to be. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Johnny. How did it even get to this?

Seeing how quickly Taeil’s mood went south, Doyoung spoke up. "How about this, tomorrow we all get together, you, me, Jungwoo, _and_ Johnny. At the café. That way I can see for sure how Johnny feels about you, and we figure things out from there? The sooner the better."

Taeil didn’t respond, instead, he just looked up at Doyoung with weary eyes.

"If you’re worried about Jungwoo knowing, I think he already does… Plus I think it’s a good idea for him to be there. You know I can be kind of brash."

Taeil wasn’t exactly worried about Jungwoo, he had already come to the conclusion that it would be a good idea for him to be there before Doyoung had explained. It was the fact that tomorrow he would most likely know for sure what Johnny’s true feeling towards him were, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that.

Taeil knew he would probably regret agreeing in the morning, but he nodded his head anyway. It really seemed like the only way Taeil was going to know for sure, and ultimately he knew it was better to know than to continue to choose to be blind to the situation and risk accidentally stringing Johnny along. Anyway, he clearly couldn’t trust himself to figure it out, cause if Doyoung was right then Johnny had confessed straight to his face and he still misunderstood.

So the next day it was.

***

Taeil had received a text from Johnny shortly after his conversation with Doyoung had ended, letting him know he made it home safely. It took everything in Taeil, and a firm coaxing from Doyoung to ask Johnny if he was free the next day to grab coffee with them.

And so that’s where Taeil found himself currently. Sitting next to Doyoung, and across from Johnny. They were waiting for Jungwoo to finish up a few things, the seat next to Johnny left open for him. He couldn’t shake the feeling like this was some kind of double date.

The atmosphere wasn’t awkward, Johnny and Doyoung were talking casually, but Taeil was sure he had never felt so nervous. He didn’t really know why. These people were the ones he felt most comfortable around, but something about the  _reason_ they were all there didn’t sit right will Taeil.

He couldn’t help but be unsure about this whole thing. He was upset with himself, for starters. He couldn’t shake the guilty feeling that Doyoung’s words about him leading Johnny on left. Despite all that had happened, he really enjoyed hanging out with Johnny. He found that he was someone who was easy to talk to, and Taeil didn’t feel that way about many people. But he wasn’t sure about how he felt if Johnny really did, in fact, like him.

As much as he wanted to deny that fact, Doyoung was making a lot of sense. But Taeil just couldn’t understand _why._ On top of that all, he wasn’t even sure about his own feelings toward Johnny. At first, he really felt like he was some sort of bad luck, the way he somehow constantly ran into him and ended up in extremely embarrassing situations. But Johnny was always kind, and never looked down on him. So, Taeil guessed he did like Johnny, he just wasn’t sure in what way.

Ultimately, he felt like everything was happening way too fast and he had no time to think things through. Taeil always carefully considered every decision he made, and he felt like he hadn’t been given the opportunity to think about this one.

Soon enough Taeil was ripped out of his thoughts as Jungwoo sat down.

"Sorry I couldn’t get away sooner."

"It’s completely fine, we all know you hardly trust the kiddies on their own," Doyoung responded, looking over toward Chenle and Jisung fumbling around behind the counter.

Jungwoo flinched as he watched Jisung drop an entire open container of milk on the floor.

"Okay we are just going to pretend we didn’t see that," Johnny said trying to reassure Jungwoo it was okay to stay.

Jungwoo took a deep breath, before quickly changing the subject. "So how was dinner yesterday, Johnny told me you two were getting burgers?"

Taeil knew Jungwoo was genuinely interested, but Taeil couldn’t help but feel like he was picking on him. He glanced over at Johnny, wanting to give him a look asking him why he talked to Jungwoo about them when he asked him not to. But he already felt bad. Plus he technically just told him not to tell Jungwoo about his apparent "crush". So instead he settled to keep the glance as nothing more than that.

"I had a really fun time. The restaurant was really cute." Taeil gave Jungwoo a genuine smile because he really did enjoy it.

Jungwoo smiled back and nodded, clearly content with Taeil’s answer.

"How about you Johnny?" Doyoung bluntly asked. It took everything in Taeil not to shoot him a nasty look.

"Yeah, I agree. I really enjoyed spending time with Taeil." The look Johnny gave Taeil made him blush. "I might just have to steal him from you two," Johnny chuckled eyes and nose scrunching up cutely.

"Speaking of that…" Doyoung started but was quickly cut off by Johnny who was all of a sudden seeming a bit shy.

"I really like Taeil, and I know you two are very important to him, so I wanted to make sure you guys were okay with me… I would like it if we could all be friends."

"Awe you’re so adorable Johnny! I know Doyoung and I would love to see you and Taeil together."

Jungwoo seemed completely unfazed by the conversation that just went down, meanwhile, Taeil was choking on his smoothie.

"I- I need a moment," Taeil barely managed to squeak the sentence out between coughs.

He had to leave. He found himself having a hard time breathing even after he had cleared his throat. It was like he was burning up, and he could feel his heart beating crazily in his chest. He genuinely couldn’t figure out what emotion he was supposed to be feeling, all he knew is that he needed to get out of the café that was feeling smaller by the second.

He sat outside at the small table set up out front as he quickly sent a text to Doyoung, knowing he would follow after him, letting him know he was okay but needed a minute.

When he finally caught his breath and had calmed down a little, he knew what he had to do.

"Hey, can I talk to Johnny for a second?" Taeil asked once he was back inside.

Doyoung and Jungwoo looked slightly confused but seemed to understand.

"I think it’s about time for Jungwoo to get back to work anyway before those two find a way to somehow burn the place down," Doyoung said, once again looking over towards the counter to see the mess that already had accumulated.

Taeil sat back down when Doyoung and Jungwoo had left.

He still was a little shaken up from freaking out, so it took just about everything in him to open his mouth and speak.

"Look Johnny I like spending time with you, a lot actually, and you seem really cool and all but I feel like you might like me more than I like you and I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about how I feel because I really don’t know how I feel and I want to keep hanging out with you but I feel really pressured and maybe I just need some time to figure things out but I would really like to be your friend and… and- I think that’s all."

Taeil was convinced he had never spoken that fast in his life and he really hoped that Johnny had understood everything because he wasn’t sure if he would be able to repeat himself.

Johnny just sat there in silence for a moment before an upset look settled over his face.

Taeil’s stomach dropped.

"Oh, Taeil I am so sorry! I really didn’t mean to pressure you, I’m really sorry I came off that way. That was never my intention. I do like you a lot and want to spend more time with you and your friends, but I don’t want to make you feel like you have to like me back or that we have to be a couple. I am completely fine with waiting for you to figure things out or being just friends if that is all you are comfortable with! I am so sorry I made you uncomfortable."

Taeil felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, yet his voice still came out sounding small. "I just… felt so bad, like I was leading you on. And well, I’ve never- no one has ever liked me like that before, so I really don’t know… I really don’t know what to do. I know that probably sounds dumb."

"It’s not dumb at all. You’re more than allowed to want to do things at your own pace, and I am so sorry that I was trying to rush you. I promise to take it down a notch or two," Johnny’s chuckled lighted the mood.

"Thank you so much, Johnny."

***

The next few months passed relatively quickly. And before Taeil knew it winter had arrived.

He was already making two stops a day at Aroma Mocha, once in the mornings to see Johnny, and once in the evenings to study. But he was seriously considering making it three stops with how cold the weather had gotten.

Just as Taeil had asked, they were taking things slow. Everything was pretty much the same really, except without the pressure of being something _more_. Taeil was enjoying having Johnny as a friend. But he knew it wasn’t going to last forever.

It had only taken a week for Taeil to realize that he actually did, in fact, have feelings for Johnny. But it took him almost 3 months to gather up the courage to let him know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/kennaloveskpop?t=1548037588)   
>  [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kennaloveskpop?lang=en)


	7. Chapter 7

It was the end of the semester, and to say things were hectic was an understatement. But for all he tried, Taeil could not focus.

He knew he needed to buckle down in order to pass his classes this semester, but his mind was elsewhere. And that elsewhere was Johnny Seo.

The last few weeks he had been the only thing on Taeil’s mind, and at this point, he was genuinely worried for his grades. School always came relatively easy for him, when he put in the effort that is. So, when he found himself feeling lost in his classes, he knew that something needed to change.

Trying to distract himself from Johnny was practically impossible.

He wasn’t exactly sure when in the past few months he had decided, but he had to tell him.

How he was going to find the courage to do so was the real question.

Asking Doyoung for advice was out of the question. He had tried to talk to him about Johnny related things in the past, but it almost always resulted in him clowning Taeil. Doyoung was definitely supportive of their relationship, but just maybe a little too much. Taeil knew he would never hear the end of it if he told Doyoung that being head over heels for Johnny was affecting his classwork.

That pretty much only left Jungwoo. If anyone, he was the best person to talk too. He was understanding and kind but ultimately gave helpful relationship advice, apparently. Taeil had yet to find out himself, clearly, but he heard from a few sources that he worked magic. Those sources being high school students… but that was beside the point.

But the catch was that Johnny was Jungwoo’s employee. He trusted Jungwoo to keep it between the two of them, that wasn’t the issue, but he wasn’t confident that Jungwoo would feel comfortable enough to talk about Johnny like that.

But he was running out of options. And time. Finals were in two weeks, and if he didn’t have his feelings somewhat sorted by then there were going to be bigger issues than not knowing how to confess.

That’s why he found himself still at Aroma Mocha after closing.

"So, you want to talk to me about Johnny?" Jungwoo had made his way over to the table Taeil was sat at after he had finished closing up.

"Yeah… I hope that’s okay."

"Of course it is Taeil! You’re my friend first." Jungwoo gave him a warm smile as if to reassure him like he could read Taeil’s mind just by looking at him.

"I think… I think I’m ready to tell him I want to be something more." Taeil fidgeted in his seat, finding it hard to get the words out. If it was hard to tell Jungwoo this, how in the world would he be able to tell Johnny.

Jungwoo’s eyes lit up, "Oh Taeil I am so excited! Johnny completely adores you, and while I am pretty sure he would have waited just about forever for you, I know that he’s just going to be over the moon!"

"Really, you think so?" Taeil was still a bit insecure about Johnny’s feelings. He had been working to take his words at face value and believe that he meant exactly what he said. But sometimes it was hard. Especially since Taeil was feeling slightly guilty about making Johnny wait around for him. Johnny was borderline perfect in Taeil’s eyes at this point, he was pretty sure that Johnny could go out and find someone better.

"Of course I’m sure! All he ever does is talk about you! And whenever you two have plans he really sits there and stares at the clock for his shift to be over so he can go meet you. It’s quite annoying actually, he gets very little work done on those days…" Despite the slight jab at Johnny, Jungwoo was chuckling.

Taeil did his best to hide his smile, it felt good hearing these kinds of things from someone else.

"He’s just, really kind of amazing though, you know?" Taeil awkwardly chuckled and ran a hand through his hair, "I just feel like I’ll never be enough for him…"

"Oh Taeil! You know that’s not true! Plus, like I said… It’s quite obvious that you’re the center of his universe."

"He never makes me feel that way, as in… that I’m not enough for him, so I know you’re right. It’s just more like when I take a step back and think about him as a whole, I can’t see him being with someone like me." Taeil held his smile, clearly no longer too held up on the issue. "But now, I guess… I’m just being greedy. I don’t want him to be with someone else. So instead of moping around worrying about not being enough, I’m going to try my best _to be_ enough for him." Confidence bloomed in Taeil’s chest at his new-found resolve.

Jungwoo chuckled, "Knowing him, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have to do that much."

Taeil matched his friend’s laugh, "Well, the first step is actually telling him how I feel, so..." Remembering that he still had to cross that hurdle made Taeil’s stomach flip, but ultimately, he was feeling better talking to Jungwoo.

"I just… don’t know how to go about telling him. I’m so nervous, and on top of that I have zero clue on how to actually bring the subject up," Taeil sighed, smile slightly fading, "Plus if I don’t do it soon, I think my grades will really be affected!"

Taeil’s seriousness about school made Jungwoo chuckle, but he knew how important it was to Taeil.

"Okay, I think I have an idea."

***

Taeil and Johnny usually spent their Friday afternoon’s together. Even if it was just to sit at Aroma Mocha and catch up on some classwork before the weekend. And this Friday would be no different. Well at least according to Johnny that is.

Johnny had gotten off shift a few hours ago, and went home to eat, shower, and change before he found himself going right back to the small café. He didn’t really mind, he wasn’t going back to work anyway. Plus, he honestly really enjoyed spending time there, it had a good atmosphere and was filled with his favorite people. He especially enjoyed his time there on the days when he could be with Taeil.

What he was not expecting was walking up to Aroma Mocha and there being a closed sign on the door.  

He would have definitely remembered Jungwoo telling him that they would be closed later that day. Plus, it was a _Friday_. Why would they be closed on their busiest day? He was sure he mentioned that he was meeting up with Taeil there later, and if he didn’t it was kind of common knowledge at this point.

Worry quickly filled his chest, as he pulled out his phone to call Jungwoo to ask what was going on, the only explanation must be that something happened. But before he got the chance to hit the call button, through the window he saw Taeil inside, coming over to let him in.

"Sorry if you’re confused..." Taeil said sheepishly.

His face must have given away his concern.

"What’s going on? Is everything okay?"

"Come in, I’ll explain."

Taeil motioned for them to sit at their usual table, except this time it lacked all the books and computer gear Taeil usually had spread out on it. Instead, replaced by two cups of coffee.

"What’s this?" Johnny said, gesturing towards the mugs. It wasn’t uncommon for them to have a drink together, but it only confused Johnny further because the café was apparently closed.

"Oh… Jungwoo helped me make them for us." Taeil was nervously wringing his hands, still standing beside the table.

"You made these?" Johnny responded in astonishment.

"Yeah… so sorry if it tastes awful. I just thought, since you are the one always making me coffee, I would return the favor…" Taeil finally sat down following Johnny, who had taken a seat to try the drink.

"No! This is really great! You did a really good job Taeil," Johnny said after setting down the cup. "But I’m still confused. Why is the place closed?"

"Oh yeah… about that." A nervous laugh slipped out of Taeil. "Jungwoo thought it would be nice to have the place to ourselves, to um… talk and stuff," he shrugged, unable to look Johnny in the eye.

"Talk?" A hint of worry laced Johnny’s voice, but he tried to hide it behind an interested smile.

"Jungwoo told me to write down what I wanted to say to you, so sorry if this is painfully cheesy."

Taeil dug through his bag and pulled out a piece of paper, "What’s worse? Reading it aloud or you just reading it yourself while I sit here and watch?"

Taeil knew he looked like he was about to throw up, but there was no turning back now.

"How about this," Johnny leaned forward and grabbed the paper from Taeil’s hand. "I’ll go ahead and read this later on," Johnny folded it in half and put it away into his backpack, ignoring a rattled Taeil. "I want you to tell me what you wrote, but I want to hear it from your heart, not from a piece of paper."

Taeil was panicking. This was not the plan, he should have expected Johnny to mix it up, but this was way too much for him to handle.

"I- uh…" Taeil visibly swallowed.

Johnny just offered him a reassuring smile in return but said nothing. Silence dragging on, Taeil deciding he didn’t have a choice.

"I- I like you, Johnny." Taeil had his eyes squeezed closed, too nervous to see the other’s reaction. "I didn’t know it at the time, but I’ve liked you since the first time we went out, and maybe even before that." The words spilled out of Taeil’s mouth, and when he paused, he finally opened his eyes to look at the man across from him.

The sheer look on his face alone raised Taeil’s confidence exponentially. It was so obvious he was holding back from bursting into a full out grin, but his eyes held so much emotion behind them Taeil was almost certain he might cry.

Taeil took a deep breath to ground himself before continuing.

"It wasn’t long after I told you I wasn’t ready for a relationship that I figured out I really did, in fact, have feelings for you. I’ve just been fighting the idea that you deserve so much better than what I can offer you."

Johnny’s face fell, smile quickly fading into something akin to worry.

Before Johnny could get the chance to cut in, Taeil continued, "But I’ve decided it would be selfish of me to give up that easily. So… I want to try. I want to try to be the person you deserve."

Johnny’s eyes were glistening for sure now, he opened his mouth to speak but was quickly cut off by Taeil who was clearly not finished.

"You make me feel like I’m something special like you see something in me that other people don’t. You’re so caring and considerate and you always ask me if I’m comfortable with something first, or whether or not I _actually_ want to do something. And if I’m not, it isn’t a big deal. You don’t make me feel bad about not wanting to do something, or being uncomfortable about certain things, like most people do. The very first time we hugged, you _asked_ if it was okay to hug me. You don’t know how much that meant to me." Taeil could tell he was rambling, that he was talking a little too fast, but he knew if he stopped, he wouldn’t be able to say everything he wanted to say.

"You let me be quiet and space out, but still fill the silence even though you know I might not be fully listening. Or, when I’m feeling like talking, you let me go on and on, and it's like I’m saying the most important thing in the world to you, even if it’s just about tech or computer things you have zero clue about."

Taeil finally stopped a moment to catch his breath. "I’m not really good with people Johnny, all I’ve ever really known was computers… but, I want to learn how to be better, with you… if that’s okay?"

Johnny didn’t ever cry. If he did, he would just get slightly misty eyed, but nothing more. But at that moment, it genuinely looked as if tears would fall. He also had given up on trying to hold back his smile, his teeth were now on full display.

"Oh Taeil. I’ve been waiting months for you to be true to yourself with me, and the truth is I would have had waited many more months if you needed me to. I’m just so happy you finally trust me enough to open up like this, you really don’t know how happy I am, really," Johnny cleared his throat and chuckled in an attempt to try to dissipate the tense air. "Also, trust me, that would have been worlds cringier if you had just read me what you had written down. But I am looking forward to reading it later!"

With worlds of weight lifted off his chest, Taeil finally got to get a good look at the boy in front of him. Months of averting his eyes in order to not be caught staring, or completely avoiding really looking at him probably took some sort of toll on his soul. After months, he was finally getting the opportunity to see Johnny for all he was.

His hair was styled to lay across his forehead today instead of pushed back like it usually was, and it had a slight wave to it, so clearly there had been some effort put into it. But regardless Taeil was sure Johnny woke up looking just as beautiful.

Taeil got completely lost within himself that he didn’t even realize Johnny had stopped talking. And he himself was starring right back at Taeil.

They stayed like that, sitting in silence for a while, probably a bit too long, and if the café had been open, they would have most likely gotten some weird looks.

But it was comfortable with Johnny like that, everything was. Sure, Taeil still got nervous, but when he did Johnny was there to calm him down, to mellow out the situation. To always make sure he was comfortable.

It was funny though, Taeil couldn’t shake the feeling that he should have done this weeks ago.

***

Johnny ended up convincing Taeil to come back to his place for movie night, claiming they could work out all the little details tomorrow, he just wanted to spend time with him right now. Also, Lucas was out of the country, apparently? Taeil quickly found out that Lucas was quite the character and lived a very unique life, and apparently, he was even a part time model? Which wasn’t the biggest surprise, but still, Taeil never had a model friend before.

So, there he found himself, back at Johnny’s apartment, completely alone with him. At night (well almost, the sun was bound to set any moment… probably). _This_ was definitely not part of the plan.

"So, I was thinking of ordering take out, you down?"

Except Taeil didn’t answer because he was internally panicking.

Johnny turned around from where he was setting up the couch (with plenty of blankets and pillows, of course) and quickly went over to Taeil sensing something was up.

"Is everything okay?"

Johnny speaking directly to him snapped Taeil out of his daze.

"It’s just- I like you, but like- I still want to take things one step at a time."

Johnny looked at him for a moment, unsure of what he meant by that. But then it clicked.

"Oh! Oh no! Please don’t worry about that! That’s not what I had in mind at all, I am so sorry if I confused you!" Johnny was clearly flustered, a tint of red settling on his checks. "One step at a time sounds great," he smiled sheepishly at Taeil, hoping he got the point across that he would only be ready when Taeil was ready.

"So, take out?"

Breathing a sigh of relief Taeil responded, "Yeah, take out sounds great."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed awkward Taeil trying to be romantic!  
> Also, the next chapter will pick up where this one left off so be ready for FLUFF (it only took 7 chapters istg).
> 
>  
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> 
> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/kennaloveskpop?t=1548037588)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kennaloveskpop?lang=en)


	8. Chapter 8

By the time their food arrived the awkward tension in the air had dissipated, and they had decided on a movie. Johnny was apparently really into Disney movies so they chose to binge watch all the Toy Story’s, as it was still quite early in the evening they could definitely get through a few. Taeil wasn’t complaining. Johnny could have put on pretty much anything and he would have been happy (except maybe a horror movie…).

"Are you sure it’s okay to eat in here?" Johnny had set up their food on the table in front of his couch.

"Well seeing as I pay the rent, I’m pretty sure it’s okay," Johnny chuckled and patted the spot next to him, gesturing Taeil to sit down.

Doyoung would have his head if he did this at their apartment. Food was completely off limits in the living room, or practically anywhere else except the kitchen.

Twenty minutes into the movie Taeil finally settled down, his nerves forgotten between the empty chicken dishes and animated toys on the screen in front of him.

That was until he felt Johnny’s hand brush up against the one laying on his lap. Before Taeil could process what was going on, Johnny had intertwined their fingers.

Clearly sensing Taeil tense up, Johnny looked over at him, ‘"Is this okay?" he asked, a sense of worry flashing across his face.

Not wanting the blush on his cheeks to be too obviously seen, Taeil kept his eyes on the TV, simply nodding to answer.

They stayed like that for the rest of the movie, holding hands. Frankly, Taeil’s back had gotten sore about halfway into the film, but he was scared to move. The last thing he wanted to happen was for Johnny to let his hand go.

But he did, eventually. Because the movie had ended, so did Taeil’s luck. Johnny got up to start the second movie, so it was only common sense he had to let go of Taeil’s hand when he did so, but that didn’t mean Taeil was happy about it.

"You are pouting…"

"Huh?" Taeil hadn’t even realized the look that had made home on his own face.

"Do you not want to watch Toy story anymore? We can watch something else if you like! Or if you want to go… I can totally walk you home!"

"No!" The look of concern of Johnny’s face, paired with the suggestion that he wanted to leave led Taeil’s response to come out a little louder than he intended it to.  

Trying to brush off the embarrassment of his outburst Taeil cleared his throat and continued, "No, it’s just… not _that_."

Johnny found his way back to the couch, sitting down next to Taeil, "What is it then?"

"I, uh…"

"It’s really okay, you know you can tell me, right? I want to make sure you are comfortable and happy when you are here. Well frankly, I want that for you all the time, but especially when you are in my own home."

Taeil knew Johnny wouldn’t push him further than this. If he decided not to tell him, Johnny wouldn’t pressure him to say. But he wanted to tell Johnny every time. Especially this time.

"I want you to hold my hand again…" Taeil was convinced there was no way Johnny could have heard that, as the words had come out as barely a whisper. But apparently, he did. Because the next thing Taeil knew his fingers were intertwined within Johnny’s once again.

"I would love to do nothing less," Johnny whispered back.

Except Taeil didn’t hear him. His mind had shut down when Johnny had lent in a bit closer than usual and Taeil for sure missed every word out of his mouth.

He was terrified Johnny would try to kiss him. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for that. And he knew for a fact that he wouldn’t be able to handle _that_. He almost lost his mind by Johnny simply holding his hand. He did just tell him that we wanted to take things slow, right?! Did Johnny forget already?

Amidst his panic, Johnny had pulled away turning back toward the TV.

Taeil breathed a sigh of relief. He knew Johnny. And he would never do anything unless Taeil was ready. Why was he so worried tonight? Maybe things just turned out a bit too good. He was pretty convinced at the beginning of the evening that there was no way everything would go 100% smoothly. And while, yes, he did not imagine this would be how the night would have ended, he was pretty sure it couldn’t have gone better than this.

***

They ended up not _working out the little details_ the next day as Johnny had promised. With finals coming up, their schedules were both pretty booked up for the next few weeks. And they hadn’t found any _real_ time to spend together. That didn’t mean they did not see each other at all, however. Actually, in those two weeks, they spent almost all of their time outside of class together. Although, the time was just spent studying.

Johnny insisted they do this because he felt more motivated studying with someone else rather than alone. Taeil wasn’t so sure of his suggestion at first. He wanted to spend time with Johnny, of course, he was just confused about how his computer information systems classes could help Johnny. But he insisted just Taeil’s company would help him, he wasn’t expecting any input, knowing they were both very clueless on each other’s majors.

Ultimately, they decided to plan a trip to the aquarium as a reward for their hard work after finals were over.

It only slightly concerned Taeil that they hadn’t really _talked_ yet. As much as he wanted to know, officially, where their relationship stood, he knew it was a busy time of the year. And as soon as they both got the proper chance, they would definitely figure things out. But he was still very excited about their aquarium trip, as it would be the perfect opportunity to do so.

Taeil was ultimately just happy he finally told Johnny what he had been wanting to say for months, and he could finally _actually_ focus on his finals. Even Doyoung backed off on his teasing, his own finals to worry about.

Being excited about their first official date really didn’t help pass the time when it already felt like he would be stuck studying for the rest of his life. But at least he had something to look forward to.

By the time he walked out of his last final of the semester, he felt like an entire year had passed since they made plans to go to the aquarium that day. But there was Johnny, who had finished his finals the day before, waiting for him outside of the classroom.

"How did it go?" Johnny asked excitedly, happy to see Taeil.

"I don’t feel too great about it, but it’s done so I’m happy." He felt like he could have studied a bit harder for his IT Resource Planning and Management final, as he knew it wasn’t his strong suit. He was much better at the number side of his major.

"I’m sure you did fine Taeil! You’ve made it this far with an almost perfect GPA, and anyways, not getting an A in one class won’t hurt you."

Taeil knew Johnny was right, so he smiled and took his hand. That was something he had been getting much better at doing within the last few weeks, being the one to initiate the contact, even if it was just holding hands.

"Let’s go, I’m excited to see some stingrays! Oh! And definitely the jellyfish too!'

"Definitely the jellyfish," Johnny repeated, chuckling before pulling Taeil along.

***

Before they knew it, they had almost explored the entire aquarium, already spending hours with the fish. The only thing left for them to do was the tunnel where the fish swam above you and it felt like you were swimming with them under the water.

Of course, that was saved for last.

Hand in hand they walked in. Taeil’s eyes were glued to the ceiling watching the different fish, sharks, and turtles swim above him.

It has been years since Taeil was last at an aquarium, and this was his favorite part, so to say he was excited was an understatement.

"Oh my god, whoa! Did you see that shark? It could totally swallow us whole! Wait! Look! Look at that sea turtle! I totally forgot they were actually that big. I think that one is a manta ray, right?" Taeil looked over at Johnny when he didn’t answer his question right away, only to find him looking back at Taeil instead of the fish around them.

The way Johnny was looking at him surprised Taeil, but what came out of his mouth next surprised him even more.

"Be my boyfriend Moon Taeil?"

It wasn’t like Taeil was surprised by the question itself… after all, they both had confessed to each other, this _was_ the next logical step. It was more like the timing of the question. Taeil did not expect Johnny to ask him right then, at that moment.

Taken aback, Taeil stood there staring at Johnny for a moment, unsure how to process the question that was just asked.

"Okay," was what Taeil managed to squeak out after his mouth finally decided to catch up to his brain.

A wide smile grew on Johnny’s face, but there was still a concerned look in his eyes. "But you are 100% sure that this is what you want right? If you are not ready for a relationship, I don’t want to force you into one!"

Johnny was still clearly worried about whether or not Taeil was comfortable or not. How him, always so considerate, Taeil thought. How could he not want to date Johnny?

"I’m very sure." Something about the fact that Johnny got nervous too always made Taeil feel more at ease like he wasn’t the odd one out.

"Okay good," Johnny released a sigh as though he had been holding his breath. "I like you a lot Taeil," he reached out and grabbed Taeil’s other hand, holding both of them now. "And it’s completely up to you… but I would very much like to kiss you right now. I want to prove to all these fish that no matter how much you gawk at them, you are my boyfriend now." A goofy grin spread across Johnny’s face, he knew he was being cringey, and he was totally doing it on purpose.

But that didn’t help the nerves that bubbled in Taeil’s chest, there weren’t many people around because it was almost closing time, but they still were in public…

Although, Taeil was positive that there would be no better place to have his first kiss with Johnny than where they were standing right then.

A blush settled over Taeil’s cheeks as he nodded. He knew if he spoke it would give away how nervous he really was and he worried that then Johnny might be concerned and take back what he had said.

"Are you sure?" Johnny asked squeezing his hands a little tighter and bending down a little to better look at Taeil.

He nodded again, but apparently, that wasn’t a good enough answer for Johnny.

"Verbal confirmation please?" He said with the pout that made Taeil want to laugh every time it made an appearance. Johnny trying to act cute was one of Taeil’s favorite things because it was just so damn hilarious to him.

And that particular face was especially hilarious, and also the very reason for what Taeil did next.

Instead of answering Johnny, Taeil just leaned forward and pecked Johnny’s pouty lips. If he hadn’t been so taken aback by what he had just somehow done, he would have for sure laughed at how surprised Johnny’s face looked after the pulled away.

He quickly spun around, not wanting Johnny to see how red his face most likely was because he was certain he hadn’t been this embarrassed in front of Johnny since the day they had met.

Once Johnny had regained his composure, he gently pulled Taeil back towards him.

"I’m pretty sure I asked if _I_ could kiss _you_ , not the other way around."

The smile that Johnny showed him was for sure the prettiest thing he had ever seen, so before he could stop himself, Taeil was agreeing to let that happen, the words "that’s okay too" spilling out of his lips.

For a moment, Taeil wasn’t sure if Johnny was actually going to kiss him or not, because embarrassment on top of nervousness didn’t leave his voice sounding too confident in his answer.

But then he did. And Taeil really wished that he had not beaten around the bush with Johnny. Not today, nor for the past 3 months.

But starting now, Taeil was sure he would never hesitate with Johnny ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/kennaloveskpop?t=1548037588)   
>  [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kennaloveskpop?lang=en)


	9. Chapter 9

Except that was a bold-faced lie.

Taeil’s second nature was to hesitate about everything, and a kiss, not even an amazing one from Johnny Seo himself was going to change that.

But he could definitely say that he wouldn’t be hesitating from kissing Johnny any time soon, or ever again for that matter.

 _Technically_ Johnny wasn’t Taeil’s first kiss. He’s pretty sure he kissed Doyoung at some point when they were younger. Doyoung has always been one for theatrics, ever since Taeil met him, so playing make-believe was a regular for the two growing up. And Doyoung always had been one to take things to the extreme.

But there was also the girl he went to junior prom with. He had been astonished when she asked him, Taeil was convinced that he would be going alone, or worse: with Doyoung. So, when a pretty sophomore girl that he genuinely had never seen before, came up to Taeil and asked him if he would take her to prom, saying no wasn’t the smartest option. As it turned out, she just wanted to be able to go to prom that year with her friends, as it was an exclusively junior/senior event and underclassman were only allowed to go if invited. But that didn’t mean she didn’t steal a few kisses from Taeil before the night ended.

But those were comparable to kissing a grandparent. After he had kissed Johnny, Taeil was certain he wouldn’t be able to enjoy kissing another person like this ever again in his life. Which was a fact that scared the hell out of Taeil, and one that he didn’t like to dwell on for too long.

"Everything okay over there?"

Johnny was over at Taeil’s that night. He was cooking dinner for the two. After complaining that they ate out too much, Johnny all but challenged him to a cook-off, which ended up just being Taeil cooking while Johnny was held up gazing lovingly at his boyfriend.

Johnny’s words snapped Taeil out of his slightly worrisome daydream, one involving them living together where Taeil cooked for Johnny all the time.

"Oh! Yeah, I just got lost in thought for a second." Taeil tried to laugh away the images that were still lingering in his mind.

"Okay you’re making me feel awful, how can I help!" Johnny stood up from the barstool to make his way over to where Taeil was.

Truthfully, Taeil rather enjoyed cooking, but he didn’t get to do it as often as he would have liked to. So ultimately, he didn’t mind doing it by himself, less clutter that way too. Plus, Johnny’s company was plenty enough.

And so that’s exactly what he told his boyfriend.

"But are you sure?" Johnny dragged out the last word, pouting as his arms snaked around Taeil’s middle.

"Yes, I’m sure. I promise!" Taeil giggled as Johnny squeezed him tighter.

"What’s that jingling?" Johnny asked, one of his hands finding its way into Taeil’s jean pocket.

Taeil’s giggles paired with Johnny’s tight hug made the change he had collected that day make noise.

Johnny took it all out of Taeil’s pocket before gasping, "I didn’t know you collected this much every single day!"

Taeil shoved Johnny away so he could better concentrate on the dumplings he was frying. "I just spent a lot of cash today, it isn’t always like that," Taeil huffed, slightly embarrassed by Johnny’s outburst.

Johnny chuckled at Taeil’s reddening ears. "Well, where do I put this sir?"

"There’s a jar on my bedside table, but it’s almost full so you can just leave it next to it if they won’t all fit."

A few seconds later Taeil heard Johnny gasp again.

"Taeil what the hell!" Johnny’s voice was muffled by the wall, but Taeil could still hear him quite clearly by how loud he yelled. "How do you have so many of these!"

Taeil rushed into his room where he found Johnny putting away the newly full jar next to the others in his closet.

"Sorry I didn’t mean to intrude… but I saw some in there, so I just assumed that’s where full ones went… but I totally didn’t expect to see this many! Taeil you’re totally rich!"

"Most of it is from my dad… but yeah I’ve been collecting for years now so…"

"When are you going to stop?"

Taeil hadn’t really ever thought about that before. He knew he wanted to keep up the tradition for his dad but until when? He didn’t have a clue.

"I guess until I retire?" Taeil threw out, making it clear _he_ wasn’t even sure.

"Isn’t that despite the point, though?" Johnny added, setting down the jar he was holding next to the others before walking up to Taeil and engulfing him in a hug. Johnny knew talking about his dad was never easy, but this seemed to help. "I mean, your dad passed away before he ever got the chance to use the money he had saved, wouldn’t it make more sense for you to use it while _you_ have the chance to."

Johnny paused to give Taeil a chance to say something but when he didn’t he continued, "I mean don’t get me wrong! I’m all for saving money! But there are definitely better ways to do that. This, collecting change I mean, seems like more of a sentimental thing. And if you want to keep it that way then that is completely fine. But something tells me if your dad could go back, he would have put that money towards something else."

Taeil didn’t say anything for a while, and Johnny began to worry he had said something he wasn’t supposed to.

"I really hope that didn’t come off as insensitive! I didn’t mean it too, but I’m sorry if it did." Johnny had pulled back from their embrace to get a better look at the smaller.

Suddenly Taeil’s eyes shot wide open, "Oh my god, the dumplings!"

Thankfully the food was saved from being burnt too badly, so they still got to enjoy some sort of a homemade meal. It wasn’t until they had finished eating did Taeil decide to finally respond to Johnny’s question.

"I’m not sure if I have an answer. Even the one I gave you I kind of just made up on the spot. That paired with what you said made me really feel like I have no idea why I’m doing this anymore, or _who_ I am really doing it for. Am I even sure that my dad would want me to do this for him?" Taeil sighed, clearly distraught.

"I'm really sorry," Johnny practically whispered, he had never made Taeil upset like _this_ before. He really didn’t know what to do.

Taeil’s eye snapped up, filled with worry, "Oh no Johnny this isn’t your fault at all! I’m not upset with you! I’m sorry! I totally ruined the mood of tonight. While I am feeling a little lost now it was probably a good thing that you brought this up anyway." A chuckle from Taeil lighted Johnny’s spirit.

"I’m not sure if I can help, or whether you would even want me to, but you know I’ll be here for you right?"

Even now, after they had been officially together for a few months, Johnny’s sweet words would always make Taeil blush.

"I know. I just need some time.'

***

"I’m gonna throw up."

"You’re like the smartest person out there! You’ve got nothing to worry about! Be proud man!" Lucas slapped Taeil a little too hard on his back knocking the wind right out of him.

"Lucas what the fuck!" Johnny quickly ran over to Taeil, instructing him to take deep breaths.

Meanwhile, Doyoung was doubled over.

"Don’t laugh Doie!" Jungwoo warned sending Doyoung a glare.

"I’m sorry it’s just, he’s such a weakling! Lucas barely hit him!"

Lucas was almost on the verge of tears, completely unaware of his own strength. "I’m so so sorry Taeil, I really screwed up! I was just trying to cheer you up, I’m really sorry."

By the time Taeil had caught his breath, it was time for him to go get ready.

"Your mom and grandparents are already here, and they’ve saved some great seats for us. You’ve got nothing to worry about. All you’ve got to do is walk across the stage, you can do that!" Johnny did his best to try to calm down a now shaking Taeil, nerves worsening by the minute.

"Yeah but… Lucas is wrong. My GPA really isn’t that great. What if they made a mistake! What if I go up there and they don’t call my name!"

Knowing there wasn’t much he could do when Taeil got overwhelmed like this, Johnny knew that only one thing that might help, it was what he did best.

"Can I hug you?"

Taeil nodded quickly before Johnny engulfed him in his embrace. "After this, we get to go get ramen and then go to the café. You’re favorite places! All you have to do is get through this then you get to go eat some amazing food with everyone you love."

"Okay. But I’m still unsure how I feel about Lucas…"

Johnny chuckled, feeling better that Taeil had settled down enough to crack a joke.

"I’m so proud of you."

"I know."

"Go get that diploma."

"You next?"

"Me next."

***

Surprisingly the ceremony passed smoothly. Except for poor Jungwoo. He got a call from a frantic Haechan stating Jaemin had called in stick, and that he "wouldn’t trust Jeno farther than he could throw him" and apparently, he claimed to not be all that strong.

As soon as they were done with pictures Jungwoo was off, sorry he couldn’t stay for dinner but would see him at the café later. And strangely enough, Doyoung followed in tow.

"Do you know why Doyoung left with Jungwoo? Did he say? This is his favorite restaurant too, I’m surprised he would miss out on it," Taeil asked Johnny after the two were out of earshot.

"Well, aren’t they dating?" Taeil jumped, surprised to see Lucas standing beside him instead of his boyfriend.

"Huh? No!"

"Really? That’s strange." And with that Lucas walked back over to where Johnny actually was, speaking with his family.

Every encounter Taeil had with Lucas left him very much confused.

He brought the topic up to Johnny during dinner.

"I mean I have no idea, but now that you mention it, it would make sense." And then Johnny just shrugged like it wasn’t the most absurd topic in the entire universe.

"What does that even mean?! There is no way! First of all, I would be the first to know if something was happening. And secondly, there is no way."

Johnny found it quite funny how upset Taeil was but decided to hold back his laugh. Today was Taeil’s day and picking on him didn’t seem right. For today at least.

"So Taeil, tell me what you have planned now!" His grandpa cut in, thankfully saving Johnny from further conversation of the topic.

"I think I’m going to do some post-grad internships. I’m still unsure about what exactly I want to be doing. I like computers, that’s all I know still, unfortunately. But I think some hands-on experience in the field will help me figure that out."

"Attaboy! You never want to jump into something you’re unsure of. You’ve got options, I know you’re going to do great."

The conversation from then on out was very parent-friendly. Taeil’s grandmother was especially interested in Lucas’s modeling career.

"Truthfully if it wasn’t for Taeil I probably wouldn’t be still working!" Lucas added after indulging the family in his life as a part-time model.

"I mean that’s a bit of a stretch, you would have still had your face minus that computer," Johnny quipped.

Taeil was very confused.

"Well I had my entire professional portfolio on my laptop, and it died before I could save it anywhere else. But Taeil brought it back to life! That’s how I know he’ll be going places," Lucas added, a cheesy smile sent Taeil’s way.

"Why didn’t you just tell me that? It would have been worlds easier to take what was saved off of your hard drive than to try to revive your entire computer!"

"But I like my computer! Plus, I mean… you fixed it didn’t you?"

***

Taeil’s family had gone on ahead after they had eaten as it was getting late and they still had to make it back home.

Which just left Taeil and Johnny, with a chatty Lucas, making there way to Aroma Mocha.

"I’m telling you Taeil! You’re blind! Jungwoo and Doyoung are totally a thing!"

"I think if anyone would know something it would be me! Aka their best friend/roommate!"

Johnny decided to let the two bicker, it was much more fun to watch than to actually take part.

"Oh yeah, well I’ll just ask them now." Both Taeil and Lucas saw the two in question at the same time through the window of the café.

Taeil grabbed Lucas’s arm to stop him from going in. "No! That’s so rude! You can’t just ask that! It will make their relationship AS FRIENDS weird if they think other people think they’re dating! Or if they really are, what if they want to tell us on their own terms!" Taeil whispered the last sentence, not wanting to wholeheartedly give in to the idea that he might be wrong.

"Taeil it’s not that big of a deal! They are so obvious! Like they want the world to know, I highly doubt they would be surprised with people assuming things."

And unfortunately, Lucas was much bigger and much stronger than Taeil, so it was him to ended up bursting through the door and making it up to the pair first.

"Hey guys! We set up a big table for everyone over there! I’ve just got to finish the coffee’s and I’ll be over in a second." Jungwoo shoved Doyoung out from behind the counter to join the rest of their small group at the table.

Taeil couldn’t help but notice the pout on Doyoung’s face. And Lucas seemed to notice too, which resulted in a jab to the side. Taeil shot him a look which he hoped conveyed as "you better keep your mouth shut."

For safety purposes, Johnny sat in between them.

By the time Jungwoo made it over with the drinks, Lucas looked like he was seconds from opening that big mouth of his. But before he could Doyoung spoke up.

"I just want to say that everyone is so proud of you Taeil! I mean I know I’m surprised you made it this far!" Jungwoo gently shoved him as if to tell him to stop picking on his roommate, something definitely not new, but still sent Taeil for a loop.

"And also, we have something to tell you guys. We are not trying to take the spotlight away from you Taeil! But we thought it might be a good opportunity because we don’t all get together that often since everyone is so busy…" Jungwoo was clearly nervous, and Taeil was about to pass out. Had he really been so blind?! Was it really like Lucas had said?!

"We’re dating," Doyoung cut in, very much on brand, getting straight to the point like that.

"That’s great! We are so happy for you two! Also, double dates! Right Taeil!" Johnny was the first to respond, happy go lucky as always.

Lucas was snickering, "Why do you look so shocked Taeil?" he was just adding flames to the fire at this point.

"I just… am a bit surprised that all. I feel kinda dumb, and like a bad friend for not noticing. But I’m really happy for you guys!" Taeil quickly added, worrying that they might misunderstand.

Doyoung chuckled, "Oblivious as always."

Things settled down after that.

Doyoung decided to stay late and help Jungwoo close up, and Lucas had headed home a bit earlier, claiming something about the beauty sleep he really didn’t need but thought it wouldn’t hurt.

Which left Johnny to walk Taeil home.

"I think I’ve decided."

It was one of the first warm nights of the season, and the flowers still hung on the trees, illuminated by the moonlight.

"About what?"

"The change."

Johnny squeezed tighter onto the small hand he was holding.

"Oh yeah?"

"I want to donate it all. To a heart health foundation. I think that would make my dad proud. And also, help people avoid what happened to him."

Johnny stayed silent, sensing Taeil had more to say.

"I think… I’ve been caught up on this idea that I could keep him close if I did this. But I think that it’s just been holding me back from accepting he’s gone. Like I’m living in some fairy tale in which he’s still here. And that I’m going to return from school, and he will be home, sitting in the living room, watching the news. But that’s not what’s going to happen."

Taeil sighed, stopping to look up at the stars.

"I know it probably sounds dumb, like, how has collecting change been holding me back? How is saving your money a bad thing? I just couldn’t get what you said to me out of my mind. Why was I doing it? I had forgotten. At some point, it just became something I felt obligated to do. And do you know, to this day you are the only person I ever talk about my dad to. Something has got to change, and for once in my life, I actually _want_ something to change."

Johnny pulled Taeil in close to his side, leading them along toward his apartment.

"Well, I guess we’ve got some change to count then!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/kennaloveskpop?t=1548037588)   
>  [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kennaloveskpop?lang=en)


	10. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m big sad this is over, but I am so proud of how it turned out. Please let me know what you thought or if you have any questions!!!
> 
> I just want to say another huge thank you to everyone who has made it this far with me and left kudos or sweet adorable comments!!! It’s honestly the best thing waking up the next day after posting and seeing the comments you guys leave. This has been by far my most popular fic for comments and it makes me so happy to receive the feedback.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

It took Taeil some time, and a lot of help, but he finally had gone through and counted all the change putting it into those little paper sleeves so he could give it to the bank. Taeil was well aware that there were machines that could have went through all of it in seconds, but that didn’t feel like it was the right way to go about things, he wanted to take his time.  

So that’s exactly what he did.

It had been almost an entire year since Taeil decided to stop collecting change. The ‘stopping’ part wasn’t the hard bit. It was understanding that he was about to give all of the change he _and_ his dad had collected for years. He sometimes still felt like those coins were the only thing that connected him with his dad now, and letting that go was a lot easier said than done. So maybe he procrastinated a little, but time heals all wounds.

Thankfully, he had some amazing people helping him along his way.

"That’s the last jar."

Taeil took a deep breath and stared up at Johnny sitting across from him. He was holding up the now jar like it was a trophy, yet a bittersweet smile sat on his lips.

"I’m ready, let's do this." They both broke out in smiles as they dumped the change on the floor. Taeil’s enthusiasm reassuring Johnny that he was going to be okay.

By the time they were done their backs ached, but their smiles were still there.

"How do you feel?" Johnny asked, carefully bringing up the subject once again.

"Better," Taeil let out a sigh as though he had been holding his breath.

It was done.

How he ended up exactly where he was sitting there in that moment, he wasn’t sure. All of his father’s life saving’s worth of change, as well as his own, all gone. Packed up, ready to be donated. And a beautiful man sitting across from him, relentlessly checking up on him.

But he really couldn’t complain.

Johnny crawled over to Taeil and laid down with his head in his lap.

"I have something to tell you."

Johnny looked concerned, so that worried Taeil instantly. But the excitement dancing behind Johnny’s eyes ultimately reassured him.

"What is it?" Taeil asked, gently threading his fingers through the hair of the boy on his lap.

"I got the job. In New York… at the museum. It’s nothing glamorous, but- but it’s my dream job," Johnny breathed out. "I heard back a few days ago… but I wasn’t sure when the right time to tell you was." He wanted to say more but was nervous about what Taeil would think. Instead, he held his breath and looked up at Taeil, wanting to gauge his reaction.

"Oh." Taeil’s hand froze in Johnny’s hair, "That’s really great Johnny, I so happy for you." The way the words came out of his mouth they sounded like a lie. But it was, in fact, true. He was more than happy for him and so proud. But above that, he was scared. He didn’t want to be left behind.

He instantly felt like he wanted to cry. He would never ask Johnny to stay here, he knew that was his dream job. But he couldn’t help but feel upset. He was wary if he would be able to handle a long distance relationship, and he sure as hell didn’t want to break up. Oh god. What if Johnny was breaking up with him.

"Do you- do you want to come with me?" Johnny paused, unsure if he should have even asked that. Taeil’s life was here, his friends, his family. How could he just uproot all of that just for him?

But ever since they started dating, that’s all Johnny could ever think about. Living in New York with Taeil someday. He regretted never bringing it up, but he was worried that wouldn’t be something Taeil ever wanted. So instead he was bringing it up now. And it probably was the worst time possible, but he had to.

Taeil knew that Johnny would go no matter what. It was all he ever talked about. He didn’t like to think about it, but he had been mentally preparing himself for this moment for a while now, even if the preparation had ultimately amounted to nothing. But the thing that surprised him the most was that Johnny wanted him to go with him. Not in a million years would he have expected that let alone gave the idea a thought. Going with Johnny felt like some unattainable dream, a dream he would never give himself the opportunity to entertain the thought of.

"Really? I can come with you?" Taeil asked. He had felt the tears forming before Johnny offered for him to come, but now they were definitely threatening to come out.

And _that_ was the last thing _Johnny_ expected to come out of Taeil’s mouth. He sat up quickly to better look at Taeil, "Of course you can. I want to be by your side, I want to be with _you_ … forever. I love you," he said it like he was surprised Taeil would think any differently. "And while I would never pressure you, I really want you to come with me so badly." Johnny intertwined his finger’s with Taeil’s and used his other hand to wipe away the tears that had fallen on Taeil’s face. "But it wouldn’t be for a few months anyway, so you still have time to decide, you don’t have to give me an answer right now."

Taeil smiled despite his tears. "Well, Doyoung and I’s rent ends soon…"

Johnny hummed, an identical smile forming on his lips.

"And he does spend most of his time over at Jungwoo’s anyway, it might just be the perfect timing after all," Taeil added.

All of a sudden Taeil quickly stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"To look for jobs in New York, you big dummy."

Johnny crossed the room in seconds, catching up to Taeil to wrap his arms around his waist.

"I love you Moon Taeil," he said, not forgetting to place a small peck upon the smaller’s lips.

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huhu it’s over :(
> 
> BUT!!!!! Chapter one of the dowoo spinoff [Keep It Simple](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18156467/chapters/42935597) is out! I’m pretty excited about this one because I really liked how I mapped out Doyoung and Jungwoo’s characters in this fic and am eager to dive more into their dynamic.
> 
> (also I mayyyyy be working on the second part of Tuesday Evening, but you didn’t hear that from me.)
> 
> I would love to hear what you guys thought of this as a whole!!!
> 
>    
> [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/kennaloveskpop?t=1548037588)  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/kennaloveskpop?lang=en)


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